''Desmophlebium'' 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

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, it is the only genus in the family Desmophlebiaceae. Other sources place it in a more widely defined

Aspleniaceae The Aspleniaceae (spleenworts) are a family of ferns, included in the order Polypodiales. The composition and classification of the family have been subject to considerable changes. In particular, there is a narrow circumscription, Aspleniaceae ...

Taxonomy

The family and genus were erected in 2016, following 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. It was shown that the species previously known as ''Diplazium lechleri'' was sister to a clade formed by the families

Hemidictyaceae ''Hemidictyum'' is a genus of ferns with a single species, ''Hemidictyum marginatum'', commonly known as the marginated half net fern. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is the only genus in the family Hemidict ...

and

, considerably removed from the

Athyriaceae The Athyriaceae (ladyferns and allies) are a family of terrestrial ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family is placed in the suborder Aspleniineae, and includes two gene ...

where it had previously been classified. Accordingly, a new genus and family were created and ''Diplazium lechleri'' transferred to '' Desmophlebium lechleri''. Another species was added to the genus on the basis of its morphology. The generic name refers to the distinctive thickened vein running just inside the edge of a pinna (submarginal) connecting the ends of other veins. The authors derived it from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, , meaning 'band', combined with , , meaning 'vein'. ( is the genitive of , , 'vein'.) In the

classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family Desmophlebiaceae is a member of the subclass

Polypodiidae Polypodiidae may refer to: * Polypodiidae (cnidarians), a zoological family that only includes ''Polypodium hydriforme'', a cnidarian parasite of fish eggs *Polypodiidae (plant), a botanical subclass of Equisetopsida sensu lato that includes the le ...

(the leptosporangiate ferns), order

Polypodiales The order Polypodiales encompasses the major lineages of polypod ferns, which comprise more than 80% of today's fern species. They are found in many parts of the world including tropical, semitropical and temperate areas. Description Polypodiale ...

, suborder

Aspleniineae Aspleniineae is a suborder of ferns in the order Polypodiales. It is equivalent to the clade eupolypods II in earlier systems; it is also treated as a single very broadly defined family Aspleniaceae. The suborder generally corresponds with the o ...

– a group known informally as "eupolypods II". A consensus cladogram showing one hypothesis for its relationship to other families in the suborder is:

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

accepts two species: *'' Desmophlebium lechleri'' (Mett.) Mynssen, A.Vasco, Sylvestre, R.C.Moran & Rouhan *'' Desmophlebium longisorum'' (Baker) Mynssen, A.Vasco, Sylvestre, R.C.Moran & Rouhan

References

Polypodiales Fern genera {{Polypodiales-stub