''Terpsichore'' 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 native to the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

Description

The genus consists of small ferns with arching fronds of determinate size.

Rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s are radially symmetric or slightly flattened, with orange to brown scales which often bear setulae (small bristles) on the edges and sometimes the surface. Except for '' Terpsichore atroviridis'',

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 ...

bear

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

(bristles). The stipe (leaf stalk) is distinct from the blade, and the blade does not taper gradually to its attachment to the rhizome. Setae on the leaf tissue are borne singly, rather than in clusters, and

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 (enlarged vein endings) do not secrete a

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

precipitate. Unlike '' Ascogrammitis'' and '' Mycopteris'', black fungal fruiting bodies are not found on the leaf blades.

Taxonomy

''Terpsichore'' was first described by Alan R. Smith in 1993, one of several genera to be recognized to remove many Neotropical grammitids from the genus ''

Grammitis ''Grammitis'' (dwarf polypody) is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Grammitidoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). It had formerly been placed in the family Grammitidace ...

''. The name, originally applied to some members of the group by L. Earl Bishop, but not published by him, honors

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; grc-gre, Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word " terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance ...

, the muse of dance. Subsequent phylogenetic analyses showed that ''Terpsichore'', as originally described, was

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 ...

. Five new genera, ''

Alansmia ''Alansmia'' 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 mainly native to the Neotropics The Neotropical realm is ...

'', '' Galactodenia'', '' Moranopteris'', '' Ascogrammitis'', and '' Mycopteris'' were recognized in order to accommodate most of the species in the genus; the species from only one of Smith's five informal infrageneric groups, the ''Terpsichore asplenifolia'' group, remain in ''Terpsichore'' as presently circumscribed.

Species

, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' accepted the following species: *'' Terpsichore alfaroi'' (Donn. Sm.) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore alsophilicola'' (Christ) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore asplenifolia'' (L.) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore atroviridis'' (Copel.) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore bipinnata'' (Stolze) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore chrysleri'' (Copel.) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore dolorensis'' (Hieron.) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore eggersii'' (Baker ex Hook.) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore exornans'' (Maxon) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore flexuosa'' (Maxon) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore haenkeana'' (Proctor) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore jenmanii'' (Underw. ex Maxon) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore lehmanniana'' (Hieron.) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore liogieri'' (Proctor) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore paulistana'' (Brade & Rosenst.) A.R.Sm. *'' Terpsichore staheliana'' (Posth.) A.R.Sm.

References

Bibliography

* * * Polypodiaceae Fern genera {{Polypodiaceae-stub