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Issue: Vol. 375 No. 1: 9 November 2018
Type: Article
Published: 2018-11-09
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.375.1.1
Page range: 1–58
Abstract views: 20
PDF downloaded: 1

Disentangling the diversity and taxonomy of Hymenophyllaceae (Hymenophyllales, Polypodiidae) in the Mascarene archipelago, with ecological implications

Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université - SU, MNHN, CNRS, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP48, 75005 Paris, France.
Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université - SU, MNHN, CNRS, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP48, 75005 Paris, France. Botanic Garden Meise, Nieuwelaan 38, 1860 Meise, Belgium
Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université - SU, MNHN, CNRS, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP48, 75005 Paris, France. Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP39, 75005 Paris, France.
Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP39, 75005 Paris, France.
Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université - SU, MNHN, CNRS, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP48, 75005 Paris, France.
Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université - SU, MNHN, CNRS, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP48, 75005 Paris, France.
Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP39, 75005 Paris, France. Department of Plant Taxonomy and Nature Conservation, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland.
Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université - SU, MNHN, CNRS, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP48, 75005 Paris, France.
Institut d’Ecologie et des Sciences de l’Environnement de Paris (iEES), Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRA, IRD, UPEC, 4 place Jussieu, CC 237, 75252 Paris cedex 05, France.
The Mauritius Herbarium, Agricultural Services, Agronomy Division, Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Réduit, Mauritius.
21, les Cytises - Terre-Sainte, 97410 Saint-Pierre, La Réunion, France.
Association des Naturalistes de Bourbon, 18 rue des capucines, 97431 Plaine des Palmistes, La Réunion, France.
Association des Naturalistes de Bourbon, 18 rue des capucines, 97431 Plaine des Palmistes, La Réunion, France.
Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université - SU, MNHN, CNRS, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP48, 75005 Paris, France.
Mascarene archipelago ferns Hymenophyllaceae western Indian Ocean La Réunion Mauritius Pteridophytes

Abstract

We here explore the diversity and ecology, and update the taxonomy of the fern family Hymenophyllaceae, which forms one of the most diverse and emblematic fern assemblages in rainforests of the Mascarene archipelago in western Indian Ocean. Since 1999, we extracted data from floras, literature, and field investigations conducted, and from an exhaustive examination of the collections at P, REU, and MAU. Our checklist recognizes 26 taxa involving 23 species, 2 local varieties and 1 new forma. We reconsider area of distribution in Mascarene Hymenophyllaceae and at least 3 species appear to be restricted to the archipelago. We discuss the updated taxonomy and discrimination of each taxon (including a new nomenclatural proposition for Hymenophyllum tenellum here renamed as H. fumarioides) and provide a dichotomous key. We present and discuss the ecology and elevational distribution of each species, in addition to the local endemicity. Finally, we emphasize the importance of threatened lowland rainforests and of wet ravines in semi-dry forests, which host a high level of diversity in the context of local conservation of habitats.