''Lecanopteris'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

, according to the

Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group (PPG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish on the classification of pteridophytes ( lycophytes and ferns) that reflects knowledge about plant relationships discove ...

classification of 2016 (PPG I). They have swollen hollow

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 provide homes for symbiotic ants. All are

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 ...

plants that naturally occur from

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

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 ...

. Several species are in commerce, being grown as houseplants and greenhouse curiosities.

Taxonomy

Phylogeny

The

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 ...

genus ''Lecanopteris'' has been divided into two sub-genera, ''Lecanopteris'' and ''Myrmecopteris''. All the species have rhizomes associated with ants. Subgenus ''Lecanopteris'' was monophyletic, and ''Myrmecopteris'' was

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

. 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 the genus was related to three other clades, treated as genera, related as shown in the following cladogram. , the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' recognizes the segregate genera; other sources do not.

Species

, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' recognized the following species in ''Lecanopteris'' s.s. *'' Lecanopteris balgooyi'' Hennipman *'' Lecanopteris carnosa'' (Reinw.) Blume *'' Lecanopteris celebica'' Hennipman *'' Lecanopteris crustacea'' Copel. *'' Lecanopteris darnaedii'' Hennipman *'' Lecanopteris deparioides'' (Ces.) Baker *'' Lecanopteris holttumii'' Hennipman *'' Lecanopteris luzonensis'' Hennipman *'' Lecanopteris mirabilis'' Copel. *'' Lecanopteris pumila'' Blume *'' Lecanopteris sarcopus'' (Teijsm. & Binn.) Copel. *'' Lecanopteris sinuosa'' (Wall. ex Hook.) Copel. *''

Lecanopteris spinosa ''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 ...

'' Jermy & T.Walker

References

''Lecanopteris''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6511489 Epiphytes Symbiosis Taxa named by Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt Fern genera Myrmecophytes