''Dendroconche'' 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 family

Polypodiaceae Polypodiaceae is a Family (biology), family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family includes around 65 genus, genera and an estimated 1,650 species and is placed in the order Polypodiales, suborder ...

, subfamily

Microsoroideae Microsoroideae is a subfamily in the fern family Polypodiaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The subfamily is also treated as the tribe Microsoreae within a very broadly defined family Polypodiaceae ''se ...

, erected in 2019. , the genus was not accepted by some sources.

Description

Species of ''Dendroconche'' are usually partially

epiphytic An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

. They grow from long, creeping

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 that are flattened from top to bottom and bear brown scales. In some species, the rhizome may have cavities. The rhizome produces two kinds of roots: those from the sides grip the surface on which the plant grows; those from underneath enter the substrate. The leaves vary in shape from undivided to deeply divided, and are up to 70 cm long by 40 cm wide. Some species produce leaves of somewhat different shapes. The leaves may or may not have a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

, which if present is usually winged. The leaf veins are prominent. The sori are round or elongated.

Taxonomy

The division of the subfamily Microsoroideae into genera has long been uncertain. A 2019

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 ...

study suggested that there were three

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

s, comprising species previously mainly placed in ''

Microsorum ''Microsorum'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Microsoroideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The species are tropical. Like most ferns, they grow from rhizomes, rath ...

'', that were close to ''

Lecanopteris ''Lecanopteris'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Microsoroideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). They have swollen hollow rhizomes that provide homes for symbiotic ants ...

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

and distinct from other clades in the subfamily. The authors of the study preferred to set up three extra

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

genera, rather than use a 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 ''Lecanopteris''. The genera are related as shown in the following

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

. , the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' recognized the segregate genera, including ''Dendroconche''. Other sources did not; ''

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 ...

'' regarded ''Dendroconche'' as a synonym of ''

''. The genus name ''Dendroconche'' is

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

-derived, from ''dendron'', meaning 'tree', and ''konchē'', meaning 'shell', apparently referring to the rounded leaves and growth habit of '' Dendroconche annabellae'', the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

Species

, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' recognized the following species: *'' Dendroconche ampla'' (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Testo, Sundue & A.R.Field *'' Dendroconche annabellae'' (Forbes) Copel. *'' Dendroconche kingii'' Copel. *'' Dendroconche latilobata'' (Hennipman & Hett.) Testo, Sundue & A.R.Field *'' Dendroconche linguiforme'' (Mett.) Testo, Sundue & A.R.Field *'' Dendroconche sayeri'' (F.Muell. & Baker) Testo, Sundue & A.R.Field *'' Dendroconche scandens'' (G.Forst.) Testo, Sundue & A.R.Field *'' Dendroconche varians'' (Mett.) Testo, Sundue & A.R.Field

Distribution and habitat

''Dendroconche'' species are native to eastern Australia, parts of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

and New Zealand. ''D. linguiforme'' is widespread, and appears to have escaped from cultivation in India. The other species have narrow distributions. Species are found in rain forests at low to middle elevations.

References

{{taxonbar, from1=Q17187705 Polypodiaceae Fern genera