''Grammitis'' (dwarf polypody) 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 had formerly been placed in the family Grammitidaceae, but this family is no longer recognized by most authors because

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analyses of

DNA sequence DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...

s have shown that it is embedded in Polypodiaceae.Harald Schneider, Hans-Peter Krier, Rosemary Wilson, and Alan R. Smith. 2006. "The Synammia Enigma: Evidence for a Temperate Lineage of Polygrammoid Ferns (Polypodiaceae, Polypodiidae) in Southern South America". ''Systematic Botany'' 31(1):31-41. The

delimitation Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities.

of ''Grammitis'' was drastically narrowed in the first decade of the 21st century. It now contains about 25

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. In 2003, a study of the

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

grammitid 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 ...

ferns placed 11 species in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

, 7 in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and 4 in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

.Barbara S. Parris. 2003. "The distribution of Grammitidaceae (Filicales) inside and outside Malesia". ''Telopea'' 10(2):451-466. The genus ''Grammitis'' was established by

Olof Swartz Olof Peter Swartz (21 September 1760 – 19 September 1818) was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes. Biography Olof Swartz attended the University of Uppsala where he st ...

around 1801.Olof Swartz. about 1801. "Genera et Species Filicum ···" In: ''Schrader's Journal für die Botanik''. page 17. (see ''External links'' below). (sources vary on the exact date). The

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

is derived from

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 ...

, ''gramma, grammatos'' meaning "a line or thread" and refers to the arrangement of the sori in some species.Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. ''CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names'' volume II. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington,DC;, USA. London, UK. (vol II). (see ''External links'' below). The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

for ''Grammitis'' is '' Grammitis marginella''. The only known

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 ...

of a

fern has been named ''Grammitis succinea'', but it is not clear that it belongs to ''Grammitis'' as more recently defined. It was found in

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

.David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK.

Circumscription

In a treatment of Grammitidaceae in 1990, Barbara S. Parris defined ''Grammitis'' broadly, to include about 400 species.Barbara S. Parris. 1990. "Grammitidaceae" pages 153-157. In: Klaus Kubitzki (general editor); Karl U. Kramer and Peter S. Green (volume editors) ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' volume I. Springer-Verlag: Berlin;Heidelberg, Germany. At that time, she stated that "The treatment of ''Grammitis'' here as a large and diverse genus reflects our current lack of knowledge concerning relationships within the family". Other authors at that time

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

''Grammitis'' more narrowly, to include about 200 species. Since about 2003, ''Grammitis'' has been understood as a genus of about 25 species with the other species to be eventually transferred to other genera, most of them new or resurrected. ''Grammitis'' sensu strictissimo (about 25 species) is distinguished by its black, sclerified leaf margins.Tom A. Ranker. 2008. "A New Combination in ''Adenophorus'' (Polypodiaceae)". ''American Fern Journal'' 98(3):170-177. It is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

to the

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

genus

Cochlidium ''Cochlidium'' is a genus of ferns belonging to 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 specie ...

. In 2004, ''Grammitis'' was shown to be

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...

if broadly circumscribed.Tom A. Ranker, Alan R. Smith, Barbara S. Parris, Jennifer M.O. Geiger, Christopher H. Haufler, Shannon C.K. Straub, and Harald Schneider. 2004. "Phylogeny and evolution of grammitid ferns (Grammitidaceae): a case of rampant morphological homoplasy". ''Taxon'' 53(2):415-428. ''Grammitis tenella'' had been shown to be closely related to ''

Adenophorus ''Adenophorus'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Grammitidoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The genus is endemic to Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) ...

'' in 2003,Tom A. Ranker, Jennifer M.O. Geiger, S.C. Kennedy, Alan R. Smith, Christopher H. Haufler, and Barbara S. Parris. 2003. "Molecular phylogenetics and evolution of the endemic Hawaiian genus ''Adenophorus'' (Grammitidaceae)" ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 26(3):337-347. and the new combination ''

Adenophorus tenellus ''Adenophorus'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Grammitidoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The genus is endemic to Hawaii.Ranker, T. A. (1992). ''Adenophorus'' x ...

'' was published in 2008. Several species formerly in ''Grammitis'' have been transferred to '' Oreogrammitis''. These include '' Oreogrammitis clemensiae'', '' Oreogrammitis hookeri'', and others.Barbara S. Parris. 2007. "Five new genera and three new species of Grammitidaceae (Filicales) and the re-establishment of Oreogrammitis". ''Gardens' Bulletin. Singapore'' 58(2):233-274. The genera ''

Ctenopterella ''Ctenopterella'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Grammitidoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). It is known from Africa through southeast Asia and Oceania to Polynes ...

, Dasygrammitis, Radiogrammitis, Tomophyllum'', and '' Xiphopterella'' were established in 2007 and some of these contain species that were formerly in ''Grammitis''. '' Lellingeria tomensis'' was moved out of ''Grammitis'' to '' Lellingeria'' in 2004.Barbara S. Parris. 2004. "New combinations in ''Acrosorus, Lellingeria, Prosaptia'', and ''Themelium'' (Grammitidaceae: Filicales)" ''Kew Bulletin'' 59(2):223-225. Transfers to other genera have also been made. The

classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

of ''

Grammitis basalis ''Grammitis basalis'' is a species of fern in the family Polypodiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habit ...

'', '' Grammitis recondita'', and others remains undecided.

Species

The species list is incomplete and may contain

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

. It was originally based on two very old sources. Edwin B. Copeland. 1956. Key to Subgenus Melanoloma page 253. In: "Grammitis" pages 93-278. In: ''Philippine Journal of Science'' 80(2).L. Earl Bishop. 1977. "The American Species of ''Grammitis'' Sect. Grammitis". ''American Fern Journal'' 67(4):101-106.

Circumscription

Species

Transferred species

References

External links