''Mickelopteris'' 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
Cheilanthoideae
Cheilanthoideae is one of the five subfamilies of the fern family Pteridaceae. The subfamily is understood to be monophyletic, but some of the genera as currently defined are not. Most species are xeric-adapted, and the subfamily is most diverse ...
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 ''Mickelopteris cordata''.
Synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
include ''Parahemionitis cordata'' and ''Hemionitis cordata''
Roxb. ex Hook. & Grev. The species is native to south-eastern Asia, from India to Taiwan and the Philippines.
[
The genus name "''Parahemionitis''" was initially published for ''M. cordata'', but is not accepted by all sources.
]
Description
''Mickelopteris cordata'' grows from short erect rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...
s covered with brownish narrow scales. The fronds are of two types. Fertile (spore-bearing) fronds have stipes
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Carthaginians, ...
(stalks) that are usually much longer than those of sterile fronds. The blade (lamina) of the frond is usually long by about wide, with a heart-shaped base and a somewhat rounded apex. It is held at an angle to the stipe. Fronds are brownish green on the upper side, brown on the lower side.[
]
Taxonomy
The nomenclature and taxonomy of the species is somewhat tangled. A species of fern native to 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 ...
and other parts of tropical Asia was described in 1828 as ''Hemionitis cordata''.[ This name was later considered to be a ( heterotypic) synonym of ''Hemionitis arifolia''. As this was an older name, being based on ''Asplenium arifolium'' published in 1768, the species was known as ''Hemionitis arifolia''. In 1974, John T. Mickel considered that the species he called ''Hemionitis arifolia'' might be sufficiently different from the other (American) species placed in '']Hemionitis
''Hemionitis'' is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Cheilanthoideae of the family Pteridaceae. Its circumscription varies greatly in different systems of fern classification. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it ...
'' to require a new genus. The differences included frond morphology and which flavonoid
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans.
Chemically, flavonoids ...
s were present.[ ]Molecular phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
studies have since confirmed the distinctiveness of the species.[
Accordingly, in 1993, ]Gopinath Panigrahi
Gopinath Panigrahi (27 February 1924 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian botanist and plant taxonomist. He was born in the village Baikunthapur, Basudebpur block, Bhadrak district, Orissa, India and obtained a Ph.D. in 1954 from the Universit ...
created a new genus for the species, ''Parahemionitis''. He typified
Typification is a process of creating standard (''typical'') social construction based on standard assumptions. Discrimination based on typification is called typism.
See also
*Ideal type
*Normal type
*Typology
A typology is a system of classif ...
the genus using ''Asplenium arifolium'' Burm.f., and called the sole species ''Parahemionitis arifolia''.[ However, it has since become clear that the original type of ''Asplenium arifolium'' is actually a specimen of a completely different species, '']Acrostichum aureum
''Acrostichum'' is a fern genus in the Parkerioideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae. It was one of the original pteridophyte genera delineated by Linnaeus. It was originally drawn very broadly, including all ferns that had sori apparently "acro ...
'', which would mean that ''Asplenium arifolium'' is not a synonym of ''Hemionitis cordata''.[ Three alternative approaches have been taken to fix this problem. In 2015, Mazumdar designated a lectotype and an epitype for ''Asplenium arifolium'', and regarded Panagrahi's use of the name ''Parahemionitis arifolia'' as acceptable.][ In 1997, Christopher R. Fraser-Jenkins regarded Panagrahi's genus name as acceptable, but not the epithet, and called the species ''Parahemionitis cordata''. In 2016, Fraser-Jenkins rejected the genus name, and published a new one, ''Mickelopteris'', with the sole species being called ''Mickelopteris cordata''.][ , the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' followed Fraser-Jenkins (2016), treating the species as ''Mickelopteris cordata'', and ''Hemionitis arifolia'' and ''Parahemionitis arifolia'' as a synonyms of ''Acrostichum aureum''.][
, while agreeing that ''Hemionitis arifolia'' is a synonym of ''Acrostichum aureum'',][ '']Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
History
Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...
'' adopted a much broader circumscription
Circumscription may refer to:
* Circumscribed circle
* Circumscription (logic)
*Circumscription (taxonomy)
* Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthr ...
of ''Hemionitis'', and so retained the species as ''Hemionitis cordata''.[
]
Distribution and habitat
''Mickelopteris cordata'' is native to the Indian subcontinent (Assam, Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
, the region of India, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
), Indochina (Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
, Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
, Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
, Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the list of isla ...
, Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
), south-central China and Hainan
Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...
, the Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
and the Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pro ...
.[ It is found in damp locations, such as the wet soil and rocks of river valleys in dense forests and shrublands, growing below elevations of 1000 m.][
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q81272907, from2=Q81274037, from3=Q23654835, from4=Q15345589
Pteridaceae
Monotypic fern genera