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Type: Article
Published: 2019-09-30
Page range: 1–27
Abstract views: 19
PDF downloaded: 1

A revision of the Hymenasplenium unilaterale subclade (Aspleniaceae; Pteridophyta) with the description of nine new species

Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
National Tropical Botanical Garden, 3530 Papalina Road, Kalâheo, HI 96741, USA;
National Tropical Botanical Garden, 3530 Papalina Road, Kalâheo, HI 96741, USA;
Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 416, Chengdu, China.
Cryptic speciation Indian Ocean islands Pacific islands Pteridophytes

Abstract

A taxonomic study of the Hymenasplenium unilaterale subclade (Aspleniaceae) is presented based on morphological and molecular evidence. Twelve species are recognized, nine of which are described as new. The nine new species include H. kinabaluense, H. solomonense, H. madagascariense, H. nigricostatum, H. neocaledonicum, H. oligosorum, H. queenslandicum, H. samoaense, and H. vanuatuense. Of the 12 species recognized, one occurs in Malaysia, East Africa, and Reunion, one in southern Vietnam, and the rest restricted to 1–2 islands of the Indian Ocean or the Pacific Ocean. These new species have been erroneously treated as H. unilaterale by earlier pteridologists. All species were included in a recent phylogenetic analysis and supported as distinct lineages based on molecular data. A key to the species and information on their distributions, habitats, and major distinguishing characters are provided.