''Tricholepidium'' 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 ...

, 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).

Taxonomy

''Tricholepidium'' was first described by

Ren-Chang Ching Ren-Chang Ching (; 15 February 1898 – 22 July 1986), courtesy name Zinong, was a Chinese botanist who specialised in ferns. Life and work Ren-Chang Ching was a Chinese botanist and pteridologist who made significant collections of plants from ...

in 1978. A

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 in 2019 suggested that ''Tricholepidium'' was one of a group of closely related genera in the subfamily Microsoroideae, a group the authors termed "''Lepisorus''

sensu lato ''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 co ...

". Its species were embedded in a clade in which none of the genera appeared to be

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 ...

Species

The

classification of 2016 (PPG I) separates the monotypic genus ''

Lepidomicrosorium ''Lepidomicrosorium'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Microsoroideae, with a single species, ''Lepidomicrosorium subhastatum'', according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). Other so ...

'' from ''Tricholepidium''. , neither the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' nor ''

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 ...

'' accepted the separation, and so placed ''Lepidomicrosorium subhastatum'' in ''Tricholepidium'' (as ''Tricholepidium buergerianum'') along with four other species: *'' Tricholepidium normale'' (Don) Ching *'' Tricholepidium subhemionitideum'' (Christ) Fraser-Jenk. *'' Tricholepidium superficiale'' (Blume) Fraser-Jenk. *'' Tricholepidium venosum'' Ching

References

Polypodiaceae Fern genera {{Polypodiaceae-stub