Toward a monophyletic Notholaena (Pteridaceae): Resolving patterns of evolutionary convergence in xeric-adapted ferns
Abstract
Cheilanthoid ferns (Pteridaceae) are a diverse and ecologically important clade, unusual
among ferns for their ability to colonize and diversify within xeric habitats. These
extreme habitats are thought to drive the extensive evolutionary convergence, and
thus morphological homoplasy, that has long thwarted a natural classification of cheilanthoid
ferns. Here we present the first multigene phylogeny to focus on taxa traditionally
assigned to the large genus Notholaena. New World taxa (Notholaena sensu Tryon) are
only distantly related to species occurring in the Old World (Notholaena sensu Pichi
Sermolli). The circumscription of Notholaena adopted in recent American floras is
shown to be paraphyletic, with species usually assigned to Cheilanthes and Cheiloplecton
nested within it. The position of Cheiloplecton is particularly surprising - given
its well-developed false indusium and non-farinose blade, it is morphologically anomalous
within the "notholaenoids". In addition to clarifying natural relationships, the phylogenetic
hypothesis presented here helps to resolve outstanding nomenclatural issues and provides
a basis for examining character evolution within this diverse, desert-adapted clade.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Science & TechnologyLife Sciences & Biomedicine
Plant Sciences
Evolutionary Biology
atpA
cheilanthoids
Cheiloplecton
ferns
molecular phylogenetics
morphological homoplasy
Paragymnopteris marantae
rbcL
trnG-trnR
BAYESIAN PHYLOGENETIC INFERENCE
CHEILANTHOID FERNS
MORPHOLOGICAL HOMOPLASY
MITOCHONDRIAL GENOMES
SEQUENCES
GENUS
CHLOROPLAST
SWITZERLAND
AFFINITIES
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21802Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1002/tax.573005Publication Info
Rothfels, CJ; Windham, MD; Grusz, AL; Gastony, GJ; & Pryer, KM (2008). Toward a monophyletic Notholaena (Pteridaceae): Resolving patterns of evolutionary
convergence in xeric-adapted ferns. Taxon, 57(3). pp. 712-724. 10.1002/tax.573005. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21802.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Kathleen M. Pryer
Professor of Biology

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