Distribution, habitat preferences and population sizes of two threatened tree ferns, Cyathea cunninghamii and Cyathea x marcescens, in south-eastern Australia

The distribution, population sizes and habitat preferences of the rare tree ferns Cyathea cunninghamii Hook.f. (Slender Tree Fern) and F1 hybrid Cyathea x marcescens N.A.Wakef. (Skirted Tree Fern) in south-eastern Australia are described, together with the extension of the known distribution range of Cyathea cunninghamii from eastern Victoria into south-eastern New South Wales. Floristic and ecological data, encompassing most of the known habitat types, vegetation associations and population sizes, were collected across 120 locations. Additional information was sought from literature reviews, herbarium collections and field surveys of extant populations. Cyathea cunninghamii is widespread, with the majority of populations occurring in Tasmania and Victoria, one population in south-eastern NSW and a disjunct population in south-eastern Queensland; Cyathea x marcescens is confined to south and eastern Victoria and south and north eastern Tasmania. Both taxa occur on King Island in Bass Strait. Both taxa have a near coastal distribution with most populations occurring in sub-coastal hinterland and escarpment forests with a median altitude of 288 m. Hierarchical cluster analysis of floristic data across the species’ geographic range identified six vegetation communities ranging from rainforest to damp sclerophyll forest. Their micro-habitat preferences were consistently identified as steeply incised gullies of minor headwater streams of coastal and sub-coastal ranges with a plentiful moisture regime and geomorphic protection from extreme stream flow events, flooding and bank scouring. Sporophyte recruitment was associated with exposed soil of stream banks and edges of constructed walking tracks. Population sizes of both taxa are small with the majority of populations consisting of less than five adult individuals, with total populations of Cyathea cunninghamii and Cyathea x marcescens estimated at 919 and 221 mature individuals respectively. Population extinctions in Victoria and Tasmania have primarily been associated with outlier populations in regions subject to agricultural land clearance, habitat modification and changes to fire regimes in crown forests. Nonanthropogenic mortality was associated with land slips, tree falls and stream bank scouring by flood water. Conservation of the hybrid Cyathea x marcescens necessitates the preservation of habitats where both Cyathea cunninghamii and Cyathea australis occur in close proximity to substrates suitable for spore germination. In future, molecular techniques may prove useful for field identification of juvenile stages, facilitating selection of progeny of Cyathea cunninghamii and Cyathea x marcescens for cultivation and re-introduction to sites of previous or possible future extinctions

Insights into the Biogeography and Polyploid Evolution of New Zealand Asplenium from Chloroplast DNA Sequence Data

Volume: 95Start Page: 1End Page: 2

(2700) Proposal to conserve the name Lycopodium mirabile (Phlegmariurus mirabilis) (Lycopodiaceae) with a conserved type

[Excerpt] Lycopodium mirabilewas described by Willdenow (Sp. Pl. 5(1):11. 1810) from Ceylon [Sri Lanka] and Cochinchina [southern Vietnam] citing two synonyms from five earlier works (“Lycopodium phleg-mariaβ.Lam. encycl.3.p. 618.Loureiro cochin.2.p.837”and“Selagoindica orientalis sive Plegmaria admirabilis zeylanica. Breyn. cent. 180. t. 92. Raj. hist. 1582 [sic = t. 1852]. suppl. 655. Dill. musc. t. 61.f.D.E.F.”) and giving the distribution, etc. as “Habitat in Zeylonà,Cochinchina. H. (v. s.)”. All the synonym references refer to a species similar to Lycopodium phlegmaria (≡Phlegmariurus phlegmaria(L.)Holub). Willdenow indicated that he had seen dried material, but specimen details were not cited. The only material labelled L. mirabile in the Willdenow Herbarium at B is barcode B -W 19340 -01 0 (!), which was considered to be the holotype by Øllgaard (in Biol. Skr. 34: 57. 1989). This is technically an inadvertent lectotypification, as additional original elements are known

Taxonomic notes on the New Zealand flora: lectotypes in Isoetaceae and Lycopodiaceae

Within the Lycopodiopsida, Lycopodiaceae is a medium-sized family of lycophytes in New Zealand with five genera and 11 indigenous species, and Isoetaceae is a small family with one genus and two species. Fourteen lectotypes are chosen for basionyms relevant to New Zealand – Isoetes alpina Kirk, Lycopodium australianum Herter, L. billardierei Spring, L. consimile Colenso, L. curvifolium Colenso, L. distans Colenso, L. drummondii Spring, L. lessonianum A.Rich., L. novozealandicum Colenso, L. sanguisorba Spring, L. serpentinum Kunze, L. varium var. gracile Kirk, L. varium var. polaris Kirk, and Phylloglossum drummondii Kunze. No type material has been found for Lycopodium decurrens Colenso, and the type for this remains undesignated. Lectotypes need to be chosen for all names at specific and subspecific rank, for which no holotype was designated by the original author, in order to fix the application of the name concerned. Justification for the choice is provided in each case. This article is a contribution towards clarifying the taxonomic and nomenclatural status of New Zealand plants for the plant names database (Ngā Tipu Aotearoa) and the electronic Flora of New Zealand

Taxonomic notes on the New Zealand flora: lectotypes in Dryopteridaceae and Nephrolepidaceae

Dryopteridaceae is a large family of ferns with 13 indigenous species in New Zealand, and Nephrolepidaceae a small family with two indigenous species. Five lectotypes are chosen for basionyms relevant to New Zealand – Aspidium cystostegium Hook., Nephrodium decompositum var. pubescens Hook., N. pentangulare Colenso, Polypodium setosum G.Forst., and Polypodium silvaticum Colenso. A neotype is designated for Nephrodium brownii Desv. No type material has been found for Aspidium coriaceum var. acutidentatum A.Rich., and the type for this remains undesignated. Lectotypes or neotypes need to be chosen for all names at specific and infraspecific rank, for which no holotype was designated by the original author, in order to fix the application of the name concerned. Justification for the choice is provided in each case. This article is a contribution towards clarifying the taxonomic and nomenclatural status of New Zealand plants for the plant names database (Ngā Tipu Aotearoa) and the electronic Flora of New Zealand

Morphological and genetic evidence for the separation of Phlegmariurus billardierei from P. varius (Lycopodiaceae)

Phlegmariurus varius is an Australasian species of lycophyte that has long been recognised as morphologically and ecologically variable. A recent study reported incongruence between morphological and genetic variation within New Zealand samples. However, a reappraisal and repeat of the genetic analyses of chloroplast DNA sequence data, and a more detailed examination of morphological variation, strongly supports the recognition of two species that are sympatric in New Zealand. The combination Phlegmariurus billardierei (Spring) Brownsey & Perrie is made here for plants with distinct strobili. The other species, Phlegmariurus varius (R.Br.) A.R.Field & Bostock sensu stricto, has comparatively indistinct strobili, and remains morphologically and ecologically variable even after the segregation of P. billardierei. Phlegmariurus varius is indigenous to both Australia and New Zealand, while P. billardierei is the only species of Lycopodiaceae endemic to New Zealand

A new combination for an Australian fern: Hymenasplenium wildii (Aspleniaceae)

Volume: 37Start Page: 19End Page: 2

Genetic and morphological identification of a recurrent Dicksonia tree fern hybrid in New Zealand.

Hybridization is common in many ferns and has been a significant factor in fern evolution and speciation. However, hybrids are rare between the approximately 30 species of Dicksonia tree ferns world-wide, and none are well documented. In this study we examine the relationship of a newly-discovered Dicksonia tree fern from Whirinaki, New Zealand, which does not fit the current taxonomy of the three species currently recognized in New Zealand. Our microsatellite genotyping and ddRAD-seq data indicate these plants are F1 hybrids that have formed multiple times between D. fibrosa and D. lanata subsp. lanata. The Whirinaki plants have intermediate morphology between D. fibrosa and D. lanata subsp. lanata and their malformed spores are consistent with a hybrid origin. The Whirinaki plants-Dicksonia fibrosa × D. lanata subsp. lanata-are an example of hybridization between distantly related fern lineages, with the two parent species estimated to have diverged 55-25 mya. Our chloroplast sequencing indicates asymmetric chloroplast inheritance in the Whirinaki morphology with D. lanata subsp. lanata always contributing the chloroplast genome

New records of fern species from New Caledonia in the genera Davallia , Dicranopteris , Dryopteris , Pteris , and Trichomanes

International audienceSix fern species are newly reported or substantiated as indigenous to New Caledonia: Davallia sessilifolia, Dicranopteris caudata, Dryopteris arborescens, Pteris terminalis, Trichomanes atrovirens, and T. kurzii. This is the first record of Dryopteris for New Caledonia. Our findings are based on extensive fieldwork, inspection of specimens in relevant herbaria including type material, comparisons with authoritative references, and phylogenetic analyses of chloroplast DNA sequences. The global and New Caledonian distribution, morphological diagnosis, and conservation status are given for each species. Davallia sessilifolia, Dryopteris arborescens, Pteris terminalis, and Trichomanes atrovirens are provisionally assessed as Critically Endangered or Endangered in New Caledonia, because they have few populations that are each of limited size, and some are also threatened by fire or introduced deer and pigs. While Dicranopteris caudata occurs in open habitats, the others are largely confined to humid habitats at high elevation, or to the wetter forested valleys of north-east Grande Terre. These are the most likely habitats in which to find more populations of these species, but also other new species records and new endemic ferns. Alongside the recent description of several new endemic species, the addition of so many non-endemic indigenous species to a fern and lycophyte flora of approximately 300 species is an indication that considerable work remains to be done in documenting these plants in New Caledonia