Sinephropteris,a new genus of scolopendrioid ferns

A new genus of ferns,Sinephropteris, is described from southeast Asia. Its one species,S. delavayi (Franch.) Mickel, has most recently been placed inSchaffneria, an otherwise monotypic Mexican genus, but there is evidence that they are not closely related.     

湖北蕨类植物新记录

该文报道了湖北蕨类植物1个新记录属:冷蕨属(Cystopteris Bernhardi)及对应的新记录种宝兴冷蕨(Cystopteris moupinensis Franchet); 4个新记录种:台湾剑蕨(Loxogramme formosana Nakai)、扇羽阴地蕨[Botrychium lunaria (Linnaeus) Swartz]、耳状紫柄蕨[Pseudophegopteris aurita (Hooker) Ching]、巢形鳞毛蕨[Dryopteris transmorrisonense (Hayata) Hayata]; 2个新记录变种:尾头凤尾蕨(Pteris oshimensis var.paraemeiensis Ching)和西藏粉背蕨[Aleuritopteris subvillosa var. tibetica (ChingS. K. Wu) H. S. Kung]。这些蕨类新记录在湖北的发现,大大丰富了湖北的植物区系及物种多样性,同时对这些蕨类的经济价值或药用价值进行了简要分析,为其资源的进一步合理开发和利用提供了一些理论依据。     

Patterns of ferns community assemblages in some Malaysian and Nigerian tropical forests

Research on fern ecology has gained attention in the last decade, yet there is a paucity of information on the comparison of ferns communities across continents. This study focused on comparing the ferns community assemblages in some tropical forests of Malaysia and Nigeria, thereby assessing the patterns of species richness (SR) and phylogenetic diversity (PD) in relation to the bioclimatic drivers across the continents. The diversity and taxonomic compositions of ferns were assessed using 180 plots of 10 m × 10 m in each country. The species richness and other diversity indices were determined using the combined forests data for each country and for the individual forests. Also, the phylogenetic diversity of the ferns was assessed using the genus‐based molecular sequences downloaded from the GeneBank. The patterns of the ferns SR and PD in the two countries as driven by some bioclimatic factors were evaluated using the regression analysis. The observed and rarefied–extrapolated fern species richness is significantly higher in Malaysian forests than in Nigerian forests. Also, the other diversity indices are significantly higher in Malaysian forests except for the Shannon index which showed no significant difference between the two biogeographic regions. There is a very low similarity (7.41%) in the taxonomic composition of ferns between the two biogeographic areas, although the similarity in composition increased with increasing taxonomic levels (species: 7.41%, genus: 12.77%, family: 70.96%). Terrestrial and epiphytic ferns are more dominant than the other life forms in the two countries. The precipitation variables drive the phylogenetic structure of ferns in Nigeria, whereas both precipitation and temperature variables drive the phylogenetic structure of ferns in Malaysia. This indicates that ferns assemblages in Nigeria and Malaysia are driven by both climatic variables. Besides, we also hypothesize that these observed differences could be due to other historical and evolutionary processes.     

Chromosome counts in some Chinese ferns

The spore mother cells of six species of Chinese homosporous ferns have been examined, among them the chromosome numbers of five species, Adiantum capillus-junonis Rupr. (n= 30), Ctenitis rhodolepis (Clarke) Ching (n = 41), Cyclogramma flexilis (Christ) Tagawa (n = 68), Leptogramma scallani (Christ) Ching (n = 36) and Vandenboschia auriculata (B1.) Copel. (n=36), from Emei Shan (Omei) Sichuan province are recorded for the first time. The chromosome number n=68 from the species Cyclogramma flexilis suggests that the base number for this genus is 34. Another species, Athyrium brevifrons Nakai from Wuling Shah Beijing (Peking) has a gameticchromosome number n=40, as already reported by K. Mitui and H. Hirabayashi.     

The lower cretaceous ferns in the genus Anemia (Schizaeceae), Potomac group of Virginia, and relationships within the genus

Based on characters of the fertile fronds, two species of fossil ferns from the Lower Cretaceous Potomac Group of the U.S.A., originally described as species of Osmunda by Fontaine in 1889, are transferred to the genus Anemia. The two species display primitive characters for that genus. Analysis of these and other characters of Anemia and related species, using parsimony and compatibility programs, suggests possible phylogenetic arrangements and facilitates delimination of three taxonomic units within Anemia that were already distinct during Cretaceous time. The subgenera Coptophyllum and Anemia are shown to be paraphyletic in the suggested phylogenies and the schemes agree with the known stratigraphy of the fossil ferns.     

Sem studies on vessels in ferns. 12. Marattiaceae, with comments on vessel patterns in eusporangiate ferns

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of tracheary elements of roots of five species from four genera of Marattiaceae and of the rhizome of one species revealed vessel elements present in all. The secondary wall framework of perforation plates is the same as that of lateral wall pitting for vessel elements in all species. Thus, no specialization is present in perforation plates of Marattiaceae compared to the simplified morphology of perforation plates of some leptosporangiate ferns (e.g., Dryopteridaceae, Polypodiaceae, and Pteridaceae). The difference between lateral wall pitting and perforation plates in tracheary elements of Marattiaceae cannot be seen by light microscopy (in which pit membranes are transparent), but is evident with SEM. Diversity in structure of perforation plates (especially the alternation of wide and narrow perforations within a plate) and presence of web-like pit membrane remnants are evident. Vessels are widespread in both leptosporangiate and eusporangiate ferns, although specialization in perforation plates (e.g., bars few and more widely spaced in lateral wall pitting of a given vessel element) is to be expected only in ferns of habitats with marked fluctuation in water availability. Vessels of Marattiaceae lack such specializations and are thus are correlated with the mesic habitats characteristic for the family.     

中国石松类和蕨类植物多样性研究进展

石松类和蕨类植物是维管植物的第二大类群, 其起源可追溯到4亿年前。在被子植物出现之前, 石松类和蕨类植物在古地球生态系统中占主导地位, 其重要性一直延续到现在。自20世纪40年代开始, 中国石松类和蕨类植物研究就令世界瞩目, 尤其是2017年第19届国际植物学大会在中国深圳召开后的5年时间里, 中国石松类和蕨类植物研究更是面向世界、走向国际, 研究更为广泛的科学问题, 在物种多样性、保护、系统演化和生态适应性等方面取得了一系列重要研究进展。2017-2022年, 多个中国研究团队利用多组学数据构建了世界石松类和蕨类植物科级水平的生命之树并提出了关键性状孢子囊环带演化的新模式; 解决了石松类和蕨类植物中目级、科级、属级和种级众多关键的系统分类学等问题, 发表了106个新分类群; 开展了大量的植物区系调查和研究, 出版了6部中国石松类和蕨类植物多样性专著和1部世界性专著; 对65种国家重点保护的石松类和蕨类植物进行了迁地保护, 同时实现了桫椤科、水蕨属(Ceratopteris)、观音座莲属(Angiopteris)和鹿角蕨(Platycerium wallichii)等重点保护类群的孢子繁殖; 在系统发育框架下, 研究了石松类和蕨类植物的生态修复功能和生态适应性演化。通过对2017-2022年研究成果的总结和思考, 本文对未来石松类和蕨类植物的发展提出以下建议: (1)提高中国寡型科属以及世界性大科大属的关注力度; (2)加强西藏、四川等薄弱地区石松类和蕨类植物的调查研究, 并结合新技术, 如DNA条形码等以提高区系调查中物种鉴别的效率和准确性; (3)运用多学科交叉的研究方法厘清各科、属、种间系统关系的同时, 还应加强系统和生态适应性演化之间的协同研究; (4)关注石松类和蕨类植物系统位置作为陆生维管植物演化起点的共性科学问题; (5)加强石松类和蕨类植物系统分类学与生态学、植物化学、保护生物学等学科间交叉合作研究。     

The classification of ferns

Intensive morphological studies have been devoted to the more primitive ferns, which represent a small minority of living species, but too little is yet known about the vast majority of other ferns, with the result that recent attempts at a natural classification show considerable differences of treatment.
The problem is complicated by convergent evolution in the characters of almost all parts of a fern plant. Not only similar soral form, but also similar frond form, types of venation, scales, etc. have been developed on different evolutionary lines.
To illustrate the nature of the problem an attempt has been made to state the probable characters of a primitive leptosporangiate fern, and the kinds of ways in which existing ferns have developed from this condition. Evolutionary change in different parts of the plant has proceeded in different ways and to different degrees in the many genera of existing ferns. Primitive characters of one kind or another are shown by a great number of ferns, along with highly advanced characters of other kinds.
Recent schemes of classification are briefly compared, and a summary is given of the author's own scheme, with notes on evolutionary trends in the various groups as he sees them.
Much more information is needed on which to establish a really satisfactory scheme. The present one is put forward in the hope that others will take up the work. With modern facilities for travel, it is to be hoped that more botanists will come to the tropics and see ferns and other too-little-known plants in their native habitats. Morphological study needs to be undertaken with an understanding of the living plant and of its environment.     

云南哀牢山国家级自然保护区附生蕨类植物的多样性与附载植物的关系

为了探讨附生蕨类植物多样性与附载植物的关系,调查了附载植物胸径、树高、枝下高及附载植物种类对附生蕨类植物多样性的影响.按照径级分别对不周径级下的附载植物的附生蕨类植物的多样性进行偏相关分析,并采用方差分析判断附载植物种类对附生蕨类植物多样性的影响.结果表明,附载植物树高和胸径与附生蕨类植物多样性之间存在明显正相关,附载植物的枝下高与附生蕨类植物多样性之间存在着明显的负相关,表明较低的枝下高有利于附生蕨类植物多样性的增加.附载植物种类对附生蕨类植物多样性具有重要的影响.     

Biochemical and evolutionary aspects of arthropod predation on ferns

Summary The widely held assumption that very few arthropods feed on ferns was questioned following field observations of arthropod damage on ferns in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. The extent and type of damage was recorded and it was found that in a measured locality, ferns were no less attacked than the angiospermous flora. As chemistry and arthropod host relationships have been shown to be so closely intertwined, plants collected in the field were analysed for both condensed tannins and cyanogenic glycosides, compounds known to be effective deterrents in temperate climates. Although all ferns tested contained tannins these did not appear to inhibit predation. Cyanogenic glycosides were present in only 3% of the fern species analysed, and it is, therefore, unlikely that they play a significant role as defensive compounds in the ferns examined.A literature search revealed a large number of ferns cited as being arthropod hosts. Approximately 420 named species of arthropods have been recorded, the majority of which are from the orders Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hemiptera. Both evolutionary primitive (sawflies) and advanced (moths) arthropods are reported to be present on ferns suggesting possible coevolution of arthropods and ferns both before and after the radiation of angiosperms.     

蕨类植物花青素和原花青素成分及含量分析

以7目14科共44种蕨类植物为材料,对它们的花青素、原花青素和总黄酮含量进行检测。结果显示,44种蕨类植物均含有花青素,较为进化的水龙骨目植物的总花青素平均含量明显高于其它蕨类植物。矢车菊素、飞燕草素和天竺葵素是蕨类植物主要的花青素类型,其中乌毛蕨科植物富含矢车菊素,鳞毛蕨科植物富含飞燕草素。本研究中大部分蕨类含有原花青素,水龙骨目植物的原花青素平均含量高于其它蕨类。研究结果表明,蕨类植物中花青素和原花青素等黄酮类化合物的分布与植物科属相关,推测花青素与蕨类植物的生长发育和抗逆过程相关。     

幕阜山脉石松类和蕨类植物多样性及生物地理学特征

通过资料收集及野外调查, 得出幕阜山脉地区共有石松类和蕨类植物26科72属261种, 具有一定的东西过渡性, 为鳞毛蕨-铁角蕨植物区系, 最大属为鳞毛蕨属(Dryopteris) (29种)。其中, 庐山的物种丰富度较高(224种), 以铁角蕨属(Asplenium)为主; 幕阜山的物种密度较大(2.09种/km ²), 以卷柏属(Selaginella)为主; 九宫山以瓦韦属(Lepisorus)为主; 三者共通种有95种, 新特有现象较丰富。该区属种分化限制明显, 表现在单种科、属及寡种科、属占总科数的60%及总属数的80%。从区系成分看, 该区科、属以热带成分为主, 科和属的热带性成分与温带性成分比值(R/T值)分别为2.6和2.3。与同纬度带山地石松类和蕨类植物属的R/T值比较, 中亚热带与北亚热带交界带的蕨类植物属的R/T值在2.18-2.36之间; 种的R/T值为0.2, 为热带成分的5倍, 表现出明显的温带性质, 是罗霄山脉植物区系温带成分的重要组成部分。该区石松类和蕨类植物区系与华东、华南植物区系联系比较紧密, 表现出华东与华南两区系成分的交汇。     

Seed ferns survived the end-Cretaceous mass extinction in Tasmania

Seed ferns, dominant elements of the vegetation in many parts of the world from the Triassic to Cretaceous, were considered to have disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous together with several other groups that had occupied key positions in terrestrial and marine ecosystems such as dinosaurs, plesiosaurs, and ammonoids. Seed-fern demise is generally correlated with competition from diversifying flowering plants through the Cretaceous and the global environmental crisis related to the Chicxulub impact event in the paleotropics at the end of the period. New fossils from Tasmania show that one seed-fern lineage survived into the Cenozoic by at least 13 million years. These fossils are described here as a new species, Komlopteris cenozoicus. Komlopteris is a genus of seed ferns attributed to Corystospermaceae and until now was not known from sediments younger than the Early Cretaceous. Discovery of this "Lazarus taxon," together with the presence of a range of other relictual fossil and extant organisms in Tasmania, other southern Gondwanan provinces, and some regions of northern North America and Asia, underscores high-latitude regions as biodiversity refugia during global environmental crises and highlights their importance as sources of postextinction radiations.     

Unique expression of a sporophytic character on the gametophytes of notholaenid ferns (Pteridaceae)

? Premise of the study: Not all ferns grow in moist, shaded habitats; some lineages thrive in exposed, seasonally dry environments. Notholaenids are a clade of xeric-adapted ferns commonly characterized by the presence of a waxy exudate, called farina, on the undersides of their leaves. Although some other lineages of cheilanthoid ferns also have farinose sporophytes, previous studies suggested that notholaenids are unique in also producing farina on their gametophytes. For this reason, consistent farina expression across life cycle phases has been proposed as a potential synapomorphy for the genus Notholaena. Recent phylogenetic studies have shown two species with nonfarinose sporophytes to be nested within Notholaena, with a third nonfarinose species well supported as sister to all other notholaenids. This finding raises the question: are the gametophytes of these three species farinose like those of their close relatives, or are they glabrous, consistent with their sporophytes? ? Methods: We sowed spores of a diversity of cheilanthoid ferns onto culture media to observe and document whether their gametophytes produced farina. To place these species within a phylogenetic context, we extracted genomic DNA, then amplified and sequenced three plastid loci. The aligned data were analyzed using maximum likelihood to generate a phylogenetic tree. ? Key results: Here we show that notholaenids lacking sporophytic farina also lack farina in the gametophytic phase, and notholaenids with sporophytic farina always display gametophytic farina (with a single exception). Outgroup taxa never displayed gametophytic farina, regardless of whether they displayed farina on their sporophytes. ? Conclusions: Notholaenids are unique among ferns in consistently expressing farina across both phases of the life cycle.     

Ashicaulis woolfei n. sp.: additional evidence for the antiquity of osmundaceous ferns from the Triassic of Antarctica

Numerous small fern trunks and dispersed osmundaceous frond fragments occur within a Middle Triassic silicified peat near Fremouw Peak in the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. These specimens form the basis of a new species of osmundaceous ferns that further helps to characterize the early Mesozoic vegetation of high latitude Gondwana. Ashicaulis woolfei n. sp. consists of small, upright trunks with a persistent armor of frond bases, adventitious roots, and vegetative frond parts. In cross section the trunks are ～2.5 cm in diameter and include up to 45 frond bases. Stems range from 5 to 8 mm in diameter with a xylem cylinder of 8-9 xylem segments separated by leaf gaps. Phyllotaxy is variable, approaching 2/5 or 3/8, with 10-12 frond traces in the cortex. Stipes have parenchymatous, stipular wings that are usually devoid of sclerenchyma; fronds are pinnate with alternate-subopposite pinnatifid pinnules. Although the absence of fertile pinnules and sporangia precludes assigning the fossils to a living genus, this species demonstrates that ferns with stelar architecture and histology similar to Osmunda subgenus Osmundastrum (Osmundaceae) were present in the Southern Hemisphere by the mid-Triassic.     

江西蕨类植物新记录

报道了10种新记录蕨类植物,包括仙霞铁线蕨、光脚短肠蕨、阔片短肠蕨、毛柄短肠蕨、粤紫萁、广东团扇蕨、雨蕨、顶果膜蕨、线羽凤尾蕨、舌蕨等,其中包括江西新记录科雨蕨科和极度濒危的珍稀蕨类植物粤紫萁.引用的标本均存放于湖南科技大学标本馆(HUST).     

Use of rbcL and trnL-F as a two-locus DNA barcode for identification of NW-European ferns: an ecological perspective

Although consensus has now been reached on a general two-locus DNA barcode for land plants, the selected combination of markers (rbcL + matK) is not applicable for ferns at the moment. Yet especially for ferns, DNA barcoding is potentially of great value since fern gametophytes--while playing an essential role in fern colonization and reproduction--generally lack the morphological complexity for morphology-based identification and have therefore been underappreciated in ecological studies. We evaluated the potential of a combination of rbcL with a noncoding plastid marker, trnL-F, to obtain DNA-identifications for fern species. A regional approach was adopted, by creating a reference database of trusted rbcL and trnL-F sequences for the wild-occurring homosporous ferns of NW-Europe. A combination of parsimony analyses and distance-based analyses was performed to evaluate the discriminatory power of the two-region barcode. DNA was successfully extracted from 86 tiny fern gametophytes and was used as a test case for the performance of DNA-based identification. Primer universality proved high for both markers. Based on the combined rbcL + trnL-F dataset, all genera as well as all species with non-equal chloroplast genomes formed their own well supported monophyletic clade, indicating a high discriminatory power. Interspecific distances were larger than intraspecific distances for all tested taxa. Identification tests on gametophytes showed a comparable result. All test samples could be identified to genus level, species identification was well possible unless they belonged to a pair of Dryopteris species with completely identical chloroplast genomes. Our results suggest a high potential of the combined use of rbcL and trnL-F as a two-locus cpDNA barcode for identification of fern species. A regional approach may be preferred for ecological tests. We here offer such a ready-to-use barcoding approach for ferns, which opens the way for answering a whole range of questions previously unaddressed in fern gametophyte ecology.     

蕨类植物不同孢子裂缝类型在中国的分布格局

孢子在蕨类植物分类及有性生殖过程中具有重要地位, 一般都具有裂缝构造, 常见的是单裂缝和三裂缝, 极少数情况下有多裂缝的变异类型。我们统计了中国蕨类2,281种(含种下单位)的孢子裂缝类型, 来探讨两种不同裂缝类型的分布格局。结果表明: (1)具有单裂缝类型的物种数多于三裂缝类型, 单裂缝与三裂缝物种数目的比值(单/三比)与纬度和海拔呈正相关。随着温度下降以及降水量的降低, 具单裂缝孢子的物种比例增加。推测具单裂缝孢子的蕨类分布范围更广, 更适宜生活在干旱及高纬度或高海拔寒冷地区, 而具三裂缝孢子的蕨类更适宜存在于低纬度或低海拔的温暖地区; (2)蕨类植物孢子裂缝类型不是单次起源, 可能存在平行演化。本研究可以为蕨类植物的起源演化与生态适应等研究提供一定的证据。     

A molecular phylogeny of scaly tree ferns (Cyatheaceae)

Tree ferns recently were identified as the closest sister group to the hyperdiverse clade of ferns, the polypods. Although most of the 600 species of tree ferns are arborescent, the group encompasses a wide range of morphological variability, from diminutive members to the giant scaly tree ferns, Cyatheaceae. This well-known family comprises most of the tree fern diversity (～500 species) and is widespread in tropical, subtropical, and south temperate regions of the world. Here we investigate the phylogenetic relationships of scaly tree ferns based on DNA sequence data from five plastid regions (rbcL, rbcL-accD IGS, rbcL-atpB IGS, trnG-trnR, and trnL-trnF). A basal dichotomy resolves Sphaeropteris as sister to all other taxa and scale features support these two clades: Sphaeropteris has conform scales, whereas all other taxa have marginate scales. The marginate-scaled clade consists of a basal trichotomy, with the three groups here termed (1) Cyathea (including Cnemidaria, Hymenophyllopsis, Trichipteris), (2) Alsophila sensu stricto, and (3) Gymnosphaera (previously recognized as a section within Alsophila) + A. capensis. Scaly tree ferns display a wide range of indusial structures, and although indusium shape is homoplastic it does contain useful phylogenetic information that supports some of the larger clades recognised.