Paragymnopteris K.H. Shing, 1993

Zhao, Jing, Liang, Zhen-Long, Yu, Hong, He, Zhao-Rong & Zhou, Xin-Mao, 2025, Toward a monophyletic Paragympteris (Cheilanthoideae, Pteridaceae): description of Sericopteris gen. nov., Phytotaxa 693 (2), pp. 166-172 : 170

Paragymnopteris K.H. Shing

– Type: Paragymnopteris marantae (L.) K.H. Shing. ≡ Acrostichum marantae L. ; Sp. Pl. 2: 1071. 1753 (as "maranta").

Plants usually epilithic, xeric. Rhizomes ascending or decumbent, short, stout; scales tan, narrowly subulate. Fronds monomorphic, clustered or closely spaced; stipe chestnut-black, base slightly scaly and hairy, distally hairy or subglabrous; adaxial lamina pale green or brownish green, lanceolate,1- pinnate, imparipinnate or pinnate-pinnatifid, gradually tapered to pinnatifid apex, papery or leathery when dry, abaxially densely covered with brown, pellucid, ovate-lanceolate scales, adaxially glabrous; rachis with sparse, narrow subulate scales; veins obscure. Indusia absent. Sori linear, spreading along lateral veins, covered with scales, somewhat revealed when mature. Spores globose-tetrahedral, perispore cristate. Chromosome number n = 29, 30, 32 or multiples there of 2x.

Paragymnopteris s.s. contains about two species now and is mainly distributed from Europe to Asia ( Shing 1993, Chu & Zhang 2006, Fraser-Jenkins et al. 2017, Zhang & Ranker 2013). Morphologically, this genus differs from the Gymnopteris Bernhardi (1799: 297) , Sericopteris , and Pellaea in subfam. Cheilanthoideae in having abaxial lamina densely covered with scales.

Shing (1993) selected Paragymnopteris marantae (≡ Acrostichum marantae Linnaeus (1753: 1071)) as the type for Paragymnopteris . This species were previously lectotypified as the type of Notholaena R. Brown (1810: 145) by Christensen (1905) which has been adopted by some subsequent authors ( Pichi Sermolli 1981, 1989, Fraser-Jenkins & Dulawat 2009, Fraser-Jenkins et al. 2017). However, the typification of Notholaena has been thoroughly discussed by Yatskievych and Smith (2003) who further suggested that the type of Notholaena is N. trichomanoides ( Linnaeus 1753: 1074) Desvaux (1813: 92) , rather than N. marantae ( Linnaeus 1753: 1071) Desvaux (1813: 92) , which we agree.

Based on previous phylogenetic analyses, Paragymnopteris s.s. is relatively distantly related with Notholaena ( Rothfels et al. 2008, Zhao et al. 2024). Paragymnopteris s.s. (two species in the Old World) is a member of “pellaeoids”, while Notholaena (ca. 30 species in New World) belongs to “notholaenoids” ( Rothfels et al. 2008).

A key for Paragymnopteris species:

1. Lamina 1-pinnate, base rounded or with a macroscopic auricle ........................................................................................ P. delavayi

1. Lamina 1-pinnate-pinnatifid............................................................................................................................................. P. marantae