''Mycopteris'' 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

Grammitidoideae Grammitidoideae is a subfamily of the fern family Polypodiaceae, whose members are informally known as grammitids. It comprises a clade of about 750 species. They are distributed over higher elevations in both the Old World, Old and New World. T ...

, 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). It is known from the American tropics.

Description

Most members of the genus are

epiphytes 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 ...

, 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 In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; , "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word " terpsichorean", which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance Terpsichore is usually d ...

''. 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 A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

, its groups were largely

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 ...

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 Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...

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 Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Species

, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' accepted the following eighteen species: *'' Mycopteris alsopteris'' (

C.V.Morton Conrad Vernon Morton (24 October 1905 – 29 July 1972) was an American botanist, who did notable writings on ferns. He was also a specialist in Gesneriaceae and Solanaceae for the Smithsonian Institution from 1928. In 1938, botanists Standl. & St ...

Klotzsch Johann Friedrich Klotzsch (9 June 1805 – 5 November 1860) was a German pharmacist and botanist. His principal work was in the field of mycology, with the study and description of many species of mushroom. Klotzsch was born in Wittenberg. Origi ...

) Sundue *'' Mycopteris steyermarkii'' (Labiak) Sundue *'' Mycopteris subtilis'' (Kunze ex Klotzsch) Sundue *'' Mycopteris taxifolia'' ( L.) Sundue *'' Mycopteris zeledoniana'' ( 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