Hymenophyllum chamaecyparicola (Hymenophyllaceae), a new filmy fern species from Taiwan

Abstract

Hymenophyllum chamaecyparicola T.C.Hsu & Z.X.Chang, a new filmy fern species (Hymenophyllaceae) has been described from Taiwan and illustrated based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence. Although the new species resembles members in the subgenus Mecodium, namely H. wrightii, our plastid phylogeny has revealed that it is genetically distant from H. wrightii and forms a clade nested within subg. Hymenophyllum. The most notable characteristic to differentiate H. chamaecyparicola from related species is the presence of minute spathulate hairs on the surface of the rachis and veins. Hymenophyllum chamaecyparicola is currently only known from a small area in northern Taiwan, and endemic to that country.