''Cosentinia'' is a genus of

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s in the subfamily

Pteridoideae ''Pteridoideae'' is one of the five subfamilies of the fern family Pteridaceae. This subfamily contains about 14 genera and around 400 species. Taxonomy Phylogeny The following diagram shows a likely phylogenic relationship between Pteridoideae ...

of the family

Pteridaceae Pteridaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, including some 1150 known species in ca 45 genera (depending on taxonomic opinions), divided over five subfamilies. The family includes four groups of genera that are sometimes recogni ...

with a single species ''Cosentinia vellea''. Its native distribution ranges from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

through Europe, northern Africa and

Western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

to the west Himalayas in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

Subspecies

, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' recognized two subspecies: *''Cosentinia vellea'' subsp. ''bivalens'' (Reichstein) Rivas Mart. & Salvo *''Cosentinia vellea'' subsp. ×''rivas-martinezii'' Amp.Castillo & Salvo *''Cosentinia vellea'' subsp. ''vellea'' (

Aiton Aiton may refer to: People *Aiton (surname) *Standard author abbreviation of William Aiton (1731 – 1793), Scottish botanist Places * Aiton, Cluj, a commune in Romania *Aiton, Savoie Aiton is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergn ...

) Tod.

References

Pteridaceae Monotypic fern genera {{Pteridaceae-stub