''Ctenopterella'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s in the family

Polypodiaceae Polypodiaceae is a family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family includes around 65 genera and an estimated 1,650 species and is placed in the order Polypodiales, suborder Polypodiineae. A broader ...

, 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 and New World. This group w ...

, according to the

Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group, or PPG, is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the classification of pteridophytes (lycophytes and ferns) that reflects knowledge about plant relation ...

classification of 2016 (PPG I). It is known from Africa through southeast Asia and Oceania to Polynesia.

Description

The rhizomes are dorsiventral (having upper and lower surfaces clearly distinct in appearance), and bear two rows of stipes, which sometimes have distinct joints where they attach. Distinct phyllopodia are present in some below the joint. The rhizome scales are brown, glabrous, and dull to glossy. Hairs, where present, are unbranched and branched, from whitish to brown in color. The leaf blades range from

pinnatifid Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common Anatomical terms of location#Axes, axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology (biology), morphology, in Crysta ...

to pinnate-pinnatifid in cutting, bearing free veins which usually end in

hydathode A hydathode is a type of pore, commonly found in angiosperms, that secretes water through pores in the epidermis or leaf margin, typically at the tip of a marginal tooth or serration. Hydathodes occur in the leaves of submerged aquatic plants s ...

s on the upper surface of the leaf. Sori are borne beneath pinnae or lobes, sometimes slightly sunken into the leaf tissue, usually in two rows but rarely in one. The sori are circular to elliptic in shape; the

sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cy ...

lack hairs.

Taxonomy

The genus was first described by Barbara Parris in 2007 to receive some of the species of the polyphyletic genus '' Ctenopteris''; ''Ctenopterella'' is a diminutive form of that name. She initially placed twelve species in the genus. In 2013, she described a new species, '' Ctenopterella gabonensis'', from the Monts Doudou in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

, and transferred a Vietnamese species, '' Ctenopterella nhatrangensis'', into the genus. In 2015, she transferred three more species from ''Ctenopteris'', including one she had formerly placed in synonymy, in preparation for a monograph on the genus. The only phylogenetic study so far to include any ''Ctenopterella'' species sampled ''Ctenopterella denticulata'' only. It found that this species, ''

Acrosorus friderici-et-pauli ''Acrosorus friderici-et-pauli'' is a species of fern in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Grammitidoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). It is native to Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Vietnam, th ...

'' (the type of its genus), and ''

Grammitis stenophylla '' Grammitis stenophylla'', commonly known as the narrow-leafed finger fern, is a fern in the family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affin ...

'' form a clade sister to the combined clade of '' Oreogrammitis'', '' Prosaptia'', '' Radiogrammitis'', and '' Themelium''. None of the three taxa in the first clade are particularly close morphologically. ''Ctenopterella denticulata'' has since been transferred to the genus '' Chrysogrammitis'' as '' Chrysogrammitis denticulata''.

Species

, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' accepted the following species and hybrids: *'' Ctenopterella blechnoides'' (Grev.) Parris *'' Ctenopterella boivinii'' (Mett. ex Kuhn) Rakotondr. & Parris *'' Ctenopterella cornigera'' (Baker) Parris *'' Ctenopterella fluvialis'' Parris *'' Ctenopterella gabonensis'' Parris *'' Ctenopterella gordonii'' (S.B.Andrews) Parris *'' Ctenopterella khaoluangensis'' (Tagawa & K.Iwats.) Parris *'' Ctenopterella lasiostipes'' (Mett.) Parris *'' Ctenopterella lastii'' Parris & Rakotondr. *'' Ctenopterella lepida'' (Brause) Parris *'' Ctenopterella macrorhyncha'' (Baker) Parris *'' Ctenopterella nhatrangensis'' (C.Chr. & Tardieu) Parris *'' Ctenopterella pacifica'' Parris *'' Ctenopterella parvula'' (Bory ex Willd.) Parris *'' Ctenopterella pediculata'' (Baker) Parris *'' Ctenopterella seemannii'' (J.Sm.) Parris *'' Ctenopterella thwaitesii'' (Bedd.) Parris *'' Ctenopterella undosa'' (Baker) Parris *'' Ctenopterella vodonaivalui'' (Brownlie) Parris *'' Ctenopterella zenkeri'' (Hieron.) Parris

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17187669 Polypodiaceae Fern genera