Parablechnum monomorphum (R.C.Moran & B.Øllg.) Gasper & Salino, Phytotaxa

Smith, Alan R. & Kessler, Michael, 2018, Prodromus of a fern flora for Bolivia. XXXIII. Blechnaceae, Phytotaxa 334 (2), pp. 99-117 : 112

Parablechnum monomorphum (R.C.Moran & B.Øllg.) Gasper & Salino, Phytotaxa 275(3): 216. 2016.

= Blechnum monomorphum R.C.Moran & B.Øllg., Nordic J. Bot. 15(2): 177. 1995.

Range:— Scattered collections in the Andes from Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia (LP).

Ecology:— Rare; terrestrial in humid forests; 2100–3100 m.

Notes:— The Bolivian specimens assigned here to Parablechnum monomorphum differ in some characters (narrower, more numerous pinnae; different aspect) from the Ecuadorian type; more than one species may be involved. An intriguing possibility would be that ordinarily dimorphic Parablechnum species have the ability, on occasion, to revert to the monomorphic (plesiomorphic) condition. We have seen this in the temperate Struthiopteris spicant (L.) Weis (see also Wasowicz et al. 2017) and other species of Parablechnum . If this is the case, then the specific status of P. monomorphum may be questioned, or if it is specifically distinct, there may be a number of independently evolved taxa with the monomorphic condition. Pending further study, we use the name P. monomorphum for the Bolivian specimens.