''Gymnocarpium'' is a small genus of ferns, called oak ferns. It was once placed with various other groups, including the
dryopteroid ferns and the
athyrioid ferns.
Cladistic
Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is ...
analysis has demonstrated that ''Gymnocarpium'' and ''
Cystopteris'' form a natural but relatively primitive clade that is basal to the
asplenioid,
thelypterioid, and athyrioid ferns comprehensively.
''Gymnocarpium''
sori are small, round and naked. These ferns generally have a slender, creeping rhizome under the surface of the ground, and fairly thin-textured fronds.
Phylogeny
This genus includes the following species:
[
]
References
External links
''Gymnocarpium'' world species list
Fern genera
Taxa named by Edward Newman
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