2018/04/26 by Eric Schuettpelz, Germinal Rouhan, Kathleen M. Pryer +6 · 29 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Fern and Epiphyte Biology #Plant and animal studies #Plant Diversity and Evolution #Herbarium #National Museum of Natural History #Library science #Fern #Geography #Archaeology #Natural history #Biology #Ecology #Computer science
paper · pdf · doi:10.12705/673.1
published in Taxon 67(3), 473-480 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2018/04/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
A global consortium of nearly 100 systematists recently published a community-derived classification for extant pteridophytes This work, synthesizing morphological and molecular data, recognized 18 lycophyte and 319 fern genera in 51 families, 14 orders, and 2 classes. Using monophyly as a defining criterion, while affirming the importance of stability in names and circumscriptions, the contributors produced a summary statement of then-current taxonomic hypotheses to serve as a resource for the scientific community and a framework for future research. The authors explicitly emphasized that their proposed classification was not intended to be the final word on pteridophyte taxonomy, nor was it to be imposed on anyone.