''Mycopteris'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Grammitidoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). It is known from the American tropics.

Description

Most members of the genus are epiphytes, although some grow on soil or on rocks.

Taxonomy

The genus was first described by Michael Sundue in 2014 to receive some of the species of the genus ''Terpsichore (plant), Terpsichore''. When that genus was described by Alan R. Smith in 1993, he divided it into five informal groups. Subsequent morphological and molecular studies showed that while ''Terpsichore'' was polyphyletic, its groups were largely monophyletic and could furnish the basis of new genera. These genera were described over the next several years; Sundue's new genus ''Mycopteris'', encompassing the ''T. taxifolia'' group, was the last group to be removed from ''Terpsichore sensu lato''. The name "''Mycopteris''" is derived from the Greek roots ''myco''-, "fungus", and ''-pteris'', "fern", referring to the near-universal association of these ferns with the ascomycete fungus ''Acrospermum''. Sundue initially placed seventeen species in the genus, one of which was newly described and another elevated from a variety. He suggested that another five to ten species might be described after the completion of a monograph on the genus. In 2017, he described a new species, ''Mycopteris martiniana'', from Mexico.

Species

, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' accepted the following eighteen species: *''Mycopteris alsopteris'' (Conrad Vernon Morton, C.V.Morton) Sundue *''Mycopteris amphidasyon'' (Georg Heinrich Mettenius, Mett.) Sundue *''Mycopteris attenuatissima'' (Edwin Copeland, Copel.) Sundue *''Mycopteris costaricensis'' (Rosenst.) Sundue *''Mycopteris cretata'' (William Ralph Maxon, Maxon) Sundue *''Mycopteris grata'' (Antoine Laurent Apollinaire Fée, Fée) Sundue *''Mycopteris leucolepis'' (Benjamin Davis Gilbert, Gilbert) Sundue *''Mycopteris leucosticta'' (John Smith (botanist), J.Sm.) Sundue *''Mycopteris longicaulis'' (Sundue & M.Kessler) Sundue *''Mycopteris longipilosa'' Sundue *''Mycopteris martiniana'' Sundue *''Mycopteris pirrensis'' (A.R.Sm.) Sundue *''Mycopteris praeceps'' (Sundue & M.Kessler) Sundue *''Mycopteris semihirsuta'' (Johann Friedrich Klotzsch, Klotzsch) Sundue *''Mycopteris steyermarkii'' (Labiak) Sundue *''Mycopteris subtilis'' (Kunze ex Klotzsch) Sundue *''Mycopteris taxifolia'' (Carl Linnaeus, L.) Sundue *''Mycopteris zeledoniana'' (David B. Lellinger, Lellinger) Sundue

Distribution

Members of the genus are found from Mexico east into the East Indies and south to Bolivia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q30110755 Polypodiaceae Fern genera