On the phylogenetic position of Cystodium: It's not a tree fern - It's a polypod!

Abstract

The phylogenetic position of Cystodium J. Sm. is studied here for the first time using DNA sequence data. Based on a broad sampling of leptosporangiate ferns and two plastid genes (rbcL and atpB), we show that Cystodium does not belong to the tree fern family Dicksoniaceae, as previously thought. Our results strongly support including Cystodium within the large polypod clade, and suggest its close relationship to the species-poor grade taxa at the base of the polypod topology (Sphenomeris and Lonchitis, or Saccoloma in this study). Further studies, with an expanded taxon sampling within polypods, are needed to fully understand the more precise phylogenetic relationships of Cystodium.