Elaphoglossum

Vasco, A., 2011, Taxonomic revision of Elaphoglossum subsection Muscosa (Dryopteridaceae), Blumea 56 (2), pp. 165-202 : 165

Elaphoglossum subsection Muscosa

Fée (1845) was the first to present a treatment of Elaphoglossum (as Acrostichum ). He knew only two species that are now recognized in subsect. Muscosa : A. muscosum Sw. and A. gardnerianum Kunze. These he placed within his scaly group, Polylepideae. Under the name Acrostichum, Sodiro (1893) cited four species of the ones currently recognized in subsect. Muscosa from Ecuador: A. bellermannianum Klotzsch , A. corderoanum Sodiro , A. muscosum Sw. , and A. yatesii Sodiro. These he placed in the group Polylepidia, along with all species with densely scaly blades. Christ (1899) placed most of the species that are here recognized as part of the subsect. Muscosa in his “Ordo” Stenoneura (plants lacking hydathodes), “Sectio” Lepidoglossa , “Subsectio” Polylepidea, “Divisio” Muscosa and Bellermanniana. In his “Divisio” Muscosa he included E. muscosum (Sw.) T.Moore , E. cuspidatum (Willd.) T.Moore , E. lepidotum (Willd.) J.Sm. , and E. tomentosum (Bory) T.Moore (the three last species do not belong to subsect. Muscosa as recognized here, but were included in the “Divisio” by Christ because of their short-ciliate blade scales). The bulk of the species that are here recognized as part of subsect. Muscosa were placed by Christ within his “Divisio” Bellermanniana: E. bellermannianum (Klotzsch) T.Moore , E. corderoanum (Sodiro) Christ , E. engelii (H.Karst.) Christ , E. lehmannianum Christ , and E. yatesii (Sodiro) Christ. Christ (1899) placed E. gardnerianum (Kunze ex Fée) T.Moore within the “Ordo” Condyloneura (species with hydathodes), “Sectio” Gymnoglossa , “Subsectio” Pilosa , “Divisio” Gardneriana . This placement seems strange and was probably due to the fact that Christ did not see the type of this species (although he cites some collections from Brazil that correspond to E. gardnerianum ). Mickel & Atehortúa (1980) recognized and formally described subsect. Muscosa , including within it nine species: E. aschersonii Hieron. , E. bellermannianum , E. blandum Rosenst. , E. corderoanum , E. decipiens Hieron. , E. engelii , E. lehmannianum , E. muscosum , and E. plicatum (Cav.) C.Chr. (this last species does not belong to subsect. Muscosa as circumscribed by this study). They stated that some of Christ’s groups, including “Divisio” Gardneriana , were of unknown relationships with their subsections. This was again probably because they did not have access to the type of this last species and were following Christ’s opinion.