Bommeria

Last updated

Bommeria
Garden and forest; a journal of horticulture, landscape art and forestry (1891) (14784131045).jpg
Bommeria elegans
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Pteridaceae
Subfamily: Cheilanthoideae
Genus: Bommeria
Fourn.
Type species
Bommeria ehrenbergiana
(Klotzsch) Underwood
Species
  • B. ehrenbergiana
  • B. hispida
  • B. pedata
  • B. subpaleacea
Synonyms
  • Gymnopteris (Bommeria) (Fournier) Christ
  • Gymnogramma section StenogrammeKlotzsch

Bommeria is a genus of small pteridaceous rock ferns, native to the New World. Genetic analysis has shown it to be a stem offshoot clade of all the cheilanthoid ferns (in family Pteridaceae), [1] except for Doryopteris , which is an even more basal ("primitive") stem offshoot. for years, it was assumed that this genus was closely allied with Hemionitis , but genetic analysis has shown that genus to be a more advanced genus evolutionarily. The same set of analysis has shown many presumed genera within this family to be paraphyletic, but the small genus Bommeria appears to be monophyletic, or a natural genus.

Contents

Bommeria is a "gymnogrammoid" fern, exhibiting unprotected sori aligned along veins on the undersides of the fronds. This is why it was assumed to be closely allied to Hemionitis. Such a feature is strongly at odds with most pteridoid ferns (Pteridaceae), which typically have linear marginal sori with an indusium, and sometimes protected with a reflexed leaf tissue margin. Apparently, this is a trait that can arise independently, and may be an atavistic trait.

The stipes (leaf stems) of Bommeria are hairy, with some scales, and the fronds are hairy, both above and below. The hairs above and short and sharp, while the hairs below may be straight or curled. Scales are also present on the bottoms of the fronds.

The genus name honors Belgian botanist Jean-Édouard Bommer. [2] The basal chromosome number for this genus is 2n=60 (n=30).

Phylogeny

As of January 2020, the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World recognized the following species: [3]

Phylogeny of Bommeria [4] [5]
Bommeria

B. hispida(Kuhn) Underw. (copper fern; Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas)

B. pedata(Sw.) E.Fourn. (western Mexico and Central America)

B. ehrenbergiana(Klotzsch) Underw. (Mexico)

B. subpaleacea Maxon

References

  1. Christenhusz, Maarten J. M.; Zhang, Xian-Chun; Schneider, Harald (18 February 2011). "A linear sequence of extant families and genera of lycophytes and ferns" (PDF). Phytotaxa . 19: 7–54. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.19.1.2. ISSN   1179-3163.
  2. Burkhardt, Lotte (2022). Eine Enzyklopädie zu eponymischen Pflanzennamen [Encyclopedia of eponymic plant names](pdf) (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. doi:10.3372/epolist2022. ISBN   978-3-946292-41-8. S2CID   246307410 . Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  3. Hassler, Michael & Schmitt, Bernd (November 2019). "Oeosporangium". Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World. 8.11. Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  4. Nitta, Joel H.; Schuettpelz, Eric; Ramírez-Barahona, Santiago; Iwasaki, Wataru; et al. (2022). "An Open and Continuously Updated Fern Tree of Life". Frontiers in Plant Science. 13: 909768. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.909768 . PMC   9449725 . PMID   36092417.
  5. "Tree viewer: interactive visualization of FTOL". FTOL v1.7.0 (GenBank release 261). 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2025.

Further reading