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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Bytram:

A new genus of forking fern family reported:

Gleichenia boryi is a poorly known species of Gleicheniaceae (the forking fern family) endemic to Madagascar and La Réunion Island. This fern was distinct from other Gleicheniaceae in its leaf morphology. However, the generic relationships of this fern have not been investigated until now.

In a study published in Plant Systematics and Evolution, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) addressed the phylogenetic relationships of Gleichenia boryi to other gleichenioid ferns especially Gl. polypodioides. This Afromadagascan species is distinct in its typical pseudo-dichotomous gleichenioid leaf morphology from Gl. boryi and it is in turn the type species of Gleichenia.

[...] The new genus Rouxopteris is terrestrial ferns distributed in Madagascar and Mascarene Islands (La Réunion). The generic name is dedicated to the pteridologist Jacobus Petrus Roux (1954–2013) who made major contributions to the taxonomy of the ferns occurring in the Afromadagascan region.

"The discovery of the separation of Rouxopteris (Gleichenia) boryi sheds new light on the early diversification of Gleicheniaceae, an old lineage of leptosporangiate ferns," said Dr. Liu Hongmei, first author of the study.

More information:
Hongmei Liu et al. The significance of Rouxopteris (Gleicheniaceae, Polypodiopsida): a new genus endemic to the Madagascan region, Plant Systematics and Evolution (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s00606-020-01657-9

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