The Plant Press

Art by Alice Tangerini: Raveniopsis sp. nov.

From Plant Press, Vol. 20, No. 2, April 2017.

In the new exhibition, “Objects of Wonder” at the National Museum of Natural History, new discoveries by museum scientists will be given a spotlight. Rotating on a regular basis, the display case debuts with a new plant species described by botanist Kenneth Wurdack. During a 2012 plant collecting expedition to Kamakusa Mountain, Guyana, an unusual shrub was discovered and subsequently identified by Wurdack to the genus Raveniopsis (Rutaceae). Alice Tangerini drew a scientific illustration of this species, and both illustration and plant specimen are currently displayed in the exhibition.

New Fern Species Discovered in East Maui

From Plant Press, Vol. 20, No. 2, April 2017.

Kenneth Wood (National Tropical Botanical Garden) and Warren Wagner discovered a new fern species from East Maui which they named Athyrium haleakalae. Published in PhytoKeys (76: 115-124; 2017), this species appears to be an obligate rheophyte, preferring sites of fast moving water along concave walls of streams and waterfalls.

The fern is in the family Athyriaceae and the species is named after the only known location in Haleakalā, East Maui, a large, dormant shield volcano. The genus has a primary center of diversity in the Sino-Himalayan region (about 91 species) with secondary center of diversity in the Western Pacific islands (about 54 species). There are nine other athyrioid fern species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

Typical habitat of Athyrium haleakalae around stream plunge pools, Hana Forest Reserve, East Maui, Hawaii. (photo by K.R. Wood)

About 300 plants of Athyrium haleakalae have been observed on the mountain of Haleakalā. Wagner and Wood have assessed this species to be Critically Endangered due to its small population size and restricted distribution. A cultivation program has begun for this fern at the Olinda Rare Plant Facility on East Maui.

A New, Community-Derived Classification for Seed-Free Vascular Plants

From Plant Press, Vol. 20, No. 2, April 2017.

The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group (PPG), including Eric Schuettpelz and 93 other authors from around the world, recently published a modern classification for all living lycophytes and ferns, down to the genus level, using a community-based approach in the Journal of Systematics and Evolution (54: 563-603; 2016). With monophyly as a primary criterion for the recognition of taxa, this monumental undertaking treats an estimated 11,916 species in 337 genera, 51 families, 14 orders, and two classes. The PPG I classification is not intended as the final word on lycophyte and fern taxonomy, but rather a summary statement of current hypotheses, derived from the best available data that will hopefully serve as a resource, a framework, and a stimulus to further discourse.

Summary vascular plant phylogeny showing relationships among lycophyte and fern families recognized in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group (PPG I) classification. For each family, the total number of genera recognized in PPG I and the sum of species estimates for these genera are provided. Where applicable, informal clade names are provided in parentheses. (From Journal of Systematics and Evolution 2016)