Published 21st December 2015
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Edited by M. Gibby & A. Leonard
MAIN ARTICLES
Two new Diplazium (Woodsiaceae) species from East Malesia
Short-lived chlorophyllous spores need special treatment to extend their longevity and vigour for ex situ conservation. Germination rates, mean longevity and germination times of chlorophyllous spores of the rare fern Osmundastrum cinnamomeum were determined to assess their viability, lifespan and vigour at 18–25°C (room temperature, RT), 4°C and -80°C during 96 weeks of storage. Results showed that at the low temperatures, the viability and vigour were significantly maintained, and the lifespan of O. cinnamomeum spores was extended. Spores stored at RT had completely lost all ability to germinate within 12 weeks. Some spores retained their viability for more than 96 weeks at 4°C and -80°C. Mean longevities were 6.1, 41.8, and >96 weeks with storage at RT, 4°C and -80°C respectively. The mean spore germination time (MGT), herein regarded as an indicator of vigour, was affected by both storage temperature and time. Spores stored at RT and 4°C began to lose their vigour after three weeks. However, it did not decline at -80°C until 24 weeks of storage. This study demonstrates that low temperature (4°C) and cryopreservation (-80°C) significantly extended the longevity and vigour of chlorophyllous spores of O. cinnamomeum.
Pleopeltis ×cerro-altoensis (Polypodiaceae), a new fern hybrid from Robinson Crusoe Island (Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile)
A fern hybrid of the genus Pleopeltis was discovered on Robinson Crusoe Island in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, off the coast of Chile, and is described as P. ×cerro-altoensis. Its putative parents are P. macrocarpa and P. masafuerae, two species present in the archipelago.
A contribution to the phylogeny of Dryopteris remota by genotyping of a fragment of the nuclear PgiC gene
Since its discovery by A. Braun in 1834, there has been speculation on the origins of Dryopteris remota. The present contribution suggests that none of the previous assumptions are correct. Dryopteris remota is triploid and of hybrid derivation. Its parental species are the sexual allotetraploid D. carthusiana and an as yet unidentified sexual diploid species, most likely identical with the unknown parent of the apomictic diploid D. affinis. These assertions are based on comparison of traits, including habit, apomixis, colour of insertions of pinnae of the species under examination, and fragment length variation of the nuclear PgiC gene.
SHORT NOTES
Nomenclatural note on Hemionitis arifolia (Pteridaceae)
