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The generic taxonomy of the Thelypteridaceae has proven to be exceptionally controversial, with some authors recognizing upwards of 30 genera, while others have treated the nearly 1200 species within a single genus, Thelypteris. With the benefit of a 600-taxon phylogenomic dataset and access to thousands of herbarium specimens, the authors have provided a revised generic classification that recognizes monophyletic genera. The present work includes the recircumscription of 14 genera descriptions of four genera and three subgenera, and 176 new names. A dichotomous key, and detailed morphological description of each of the 37 genera recognized by the authors is provided, including a diagnosis, a discussion of previous taxonomic and phylogenetic studies, notes on ecology and biogeography, and a list of constituent species. Thirty-two original pen and ink illustrations and 15 colour photographs provide examples of critical characteristics necessary for keying, and these represent much of the taxonomic and morphological diversity within the family. Extensive introductory material covers the history of classification in the group and provides a discussion on morphology, cytology, hybridization, fossil evidence, biogeography, and prior phylogenetic studies. This book will be a useful reference for professional and amateur botanists alike – all those hoping to familiarize themselves with one of the most diverse fern families. For anyone wanting to identify and classify ferns, especially in the most biodiverse and imperilled ecosystems, this will be an invaluable tool.
Susan Fawcett is a National Geographic Explorer and Research Botanist at the University and Jepson Herbaria at UC Berkeley. She is a member of the faculty of the University of Michigan Biological Station, providing instruction in both botany and botanical illustration. She has conducted fieldwork in Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Peru, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Hawaii and the continental US. She is broadly interested in systematics and floristics, with an emphasis on ferns.
Alan R. Smith is a Research Botanist (now Emeritus) in the University Herbarium at UC Berkeley, a position he has held since 1969, after completing his doctorate under John Mickel at Iowa State University on the systematics of the neotropical species of Thelypteris section Cyclosorus. He has conducted fieldwork in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Brazil, concentrating on floristic work on both Thelypteridaceae and grammitid ferns (Polypodiaceae) for various floras, and has authored or co-authored countrywide accounts of pteridophytes of Mexico, Venezuela, and Bolivia. In 2014, he received the Asa Gray Award from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists.
