Gymnosphaera 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 ...

tree fern The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tree ...

s in family

Cyatheaceae The Cyatheaceae are a family of ferns, the scaly tree ferns, one of eight families in the order Cyatheales in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). Alternatively, the family may defined much more broadly (Cyatheaceae '' ...

Taxonomy

The genus was originally described by

Carl Ludwig Blume Charles Ludwig de Blume or Karl Ludwig von Blume (9 June 1796, Braunschweig – 3 February 1862, Leiden) was a German-Dutch botanist. He was born at Braunschweig in Germany, but studied at Leiden University and spent his professional life wor ...

in 1828. It was frequently treated by later authors as a synonym of ''

Cyathea ''Cyathea'' is a genus of tree ferns, the type genus of the fern order Cyatheales. The genus name ''Cyathea'' is derived from the Greek ''kyatheion'', meaning "little cup", and refers to the cup-shaped sori on the underside of the fronds. Des ...

'' or '' Alsophila''. 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 (PPG I), ''Gymnosphaera'' was left as a synonym of ''Alsophila'', as evidence to support its reliable separation was lacking. More recently, Shi-Yong Dong and collaborators proposed the revival and recircumscription of the genus based on additional phylogenetic evidence, an act subsequently accepted by other tree fern workers.

List of species

, the following species are accepted in the genus as currently circumscribed by the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World: *'' Gymnosphaera acrostichoides'' (Alderw.) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera alticola'' Tardieu *'' Gymnosphaera andersonii'' (J.Scott ex Bedd.) Ching & S.K.Wu *'' Gymnosphaera andohahelensis'' (Tardieu) Tardieu *'' Gymnosphaera annae'' (Alderw.) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera atropurpurea'' (Copel.) Copel. *'' Gymnosphaera austroyunnanensis'' (S.G.Lu) S.G.Lu & Chun X.Li *'' Gymnosphaera bachmaensis'' S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera baileyana'' (Domin) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera biformis'' (Rosenst.) Copel. *'' Gymnosphaera boivinii'' (Mett. ex Ettingsh.) Tardieu *'' Gymnosphaera bonii'' (Christ) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera capensis'' (L.fil.) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera commutata'' (Mett.) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera denticulata'' (Baker) Copel. *'' Gymnosphaera dimorpha'' (Christ) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera gigantea'' (Wall. ex Hook.) J.Sm. *'' Gymnosphaera glabra'' Blume *'' Gymnosphaera henryi'' (Baker) S.R.Ghosh *'' Gymnosphaera hornei'' (Baker) Copel. *'' Gymnosphaera impolita'' (Rakotondr. & Janssen) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera khasyana'' (T.Moore ex Kuhn) Ching *'' Gymnosphaera lurida'' (Blume) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera metteniana'' (Hance) Tagawa *'' Gymnosphaera mildbraedii'' (Brause) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera nicklesii'' Tardieu & F.Ballard ex Tardieu *'' Gymnosphaera ogurae'' (Hayata) Tagawa *'' Gymnosphaera olivacea'' (Brause) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera phlebodes'' (Lehnert & Coritico) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera podophylla'' (Hook.) Copel. *'' Gymnosphaera poolii'' (C.Chr.) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera ramispina'' (Hook.) Copel. *'' Gymnosphaera ramispinoides'' (M.Kato) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera rebeccae'' (F.Muell.) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera rouhaniana'' (Rakotondr. & Janssen) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera rubella'' (Holttum) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera salletii'' (Tardieu & C.Chr. ex C.Chr. & Tardieu) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera salvinii'' (Hook.) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera saxicola'' S.Y.Dong & Z.Y.Zuo *'' Gymnosphaera scandens'' (Brause) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera schlechteri'' (Brause) Copel. *'' Gymnosphaera schliebenii'' (Reimers) S.Y.Dong *'' Gymnosphaera subdubia'' (Alderw.) S.Y.Dong

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q17166772 Cyatheaceae Pantropical flora Fern genera