''Dipteris'' is a genus of about seven species of

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 exce ...

s, native to tropical regions across the world, particularly

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, with a species in northeastern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

in Australia. It is one of two genera in the family

Dipteridaceae The Dipteridaceae is a family of ferns in the order Gleicheniales of the class Polypodiopsida. They are commonly known as umbrella ferns and contain two genera, ''Cheiropleuria'' and ''Dipteris'', with a total of nine species confined to Asia, N ...

Description

Species of ''Dipteris'' grow from creeping rhizomes, and have large stalks to the sporangium and annulus. The rhizomes have

bristle A bristle is a stiff hair or feather (natural or artificial), either on an animal, such as a pig, a plant, or on a tool such as a brush or broom. Synthetic types Synthetic materials such as nylon are also used to make bristles in items such as ...

s (or hairs) and the fronds have uniseriate hairs (having one line or series). All species of ''Dipteris'' have spore-capsules that are carried on the lower surface of the broad lobed

frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

.A. C. Seward The fronds can reach up to 50 cm long.

Taxonomy

Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt (5 June 1773 in Lüttringhausen – 6 March 1854 in Leiden) was a Prussian-born Dutch botanist. He is considered to be the founding father of Bogor Botanical Garden in Indonesia. Biography In 1787 he was ap ...

first published the genus in 1825, by describing ''Dipteris conjugata'' Reinw. which is the best known species. In 1839, R. Brown reduced the genus to a subgenus of ''

Polypodium ''Polypodium'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Polypodioideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The genus is widely distributed throughout the world, with the highest ...

''. In 1901, Konrad Christ published ''Die Farnkrauter der Erde't'', within which he included the genus ''Dipteris'' 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 broade ...

, (a subdivision of the Polypodiacea). It was then later placed into a separate genus,A. C. Seward Bower (1928), Ching (1940) and Pichi-Sermolli (1958) all having recreated the family Dipteridaceae, then comprising only one genus, ''Dipteris'', due to the differences in sporangium, stomata and gametophte.Peter H. Hovenkamp The Latin genus name ''Dipteris'' refers to an amalgamation of two terms: ''di'' meaning two, and ''pteris''

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 ...

word used for ferns generally, meaning wing-like.

Species

, '' Plants of the World Online'' and the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' recognized seven species: *'' Dipteris chinensis ''

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

– Tropical Asia and Australasia *''

Dipteris conjugata ''Dipteris conjugata'' is a species of fern. It has a rhizome, and 2-3 tall stems with mid green or dark green fronds, which have several divisions to toothed lobes. It is grows in clearings, mountain ridges and in forest margins, from tropical a ...

'' Reinw. – Indochina to Australia (Queensland), and some islands in the Pacific Ocean *'' Dipteris lobbiana'' (Hook.) T. Moore – Cuba, Hispaniola *'' Dipteris nieuwenhuisii'' Christ *'' Dipteris novoguineensis'' Posth. *'' Dipteris papilioniformis'' Kjellb. *'' Dipteris wallichii '' (R. Br.) T. Moore –

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Cuba, Hispaniola ''Dipteris polyphyllus'', a species from

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

has not been fully accepted as a species.

Distribution and habitat

Many species are found in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

and

, growing beside '' Matonia'' (another fern species). Most of the species grow on rocks, exposed places, clearings and in thickets.K.U. Kramer, Klaus Kubitzki, P.S. Green (Editors)

Fossils

The genus has been found to have been widely distributed during the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

period,R.D. Preton and H.W. Woolhouse of the Mesozoic Era when much of the genus was widely distributed around

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Such

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s have been found in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, Switzerland, Bornholm (island),

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

References

Other sources

* Douglas Houghton Campbell, The Evolution of the Land Plants (Embryophyta), 1940 * Anil Kumar, Botany for Degree Pteridophyta, 2006 * Sir Arthur George Tansley, The New Phytologist, 1956

External links

* http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3&taxon_id=110503 Flora of China {{Taxonbar, from=Q2103553 Gleicheniales Fern genera