Dipteris

Dipteris is a genus of about seven species of ferns, native to tropical regions across the world, particularly Asia, with a species in northeastern Queensland in Australia. It is one of two genera in the family Dipteridaceae.

Dipteris
Dipteris conjugata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Gleicheniales
Family:	Dipteridaceae
Genus:	Dipteris Reinw.
Type species
Dipteris conjugata Reinwardt
Species
See text
Synonyms
Phymatodes Presl

Description

Species of Dipteris grow from creeping rhizomes,^[1] and have large stalks to the sporangium and annulus.^[2] The rhizomes have bristles (or hairs) and the fronds have uniseriate hairs (having one line or series).^[3] All species of Dipteris have spore-capsules that are carried on the lower surface of the broad lobed frond.^[4] The fronds can reach up to 50 cm long.^[5]

Taxonomy

Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt first published the genus in 1825,^[6] by describing Dipteris conjugata Reinw.^[7] which is the best known species.^[8]

In 1839, R. Brown reduced the genus to a subgenus of Polypodium.^[9] In 1901, Konrad Christ published Die Farnkrauter der Erde't, within which he included the genus Dipteris in the family Polypodiaceae, (a subdivision of the Polypodiacea).^[10] It was then later placed into a separate genus,^[4][5] Bower (1928), Ching (1940) and Pichi-Sermolli (1958) all having recreated the family Dipteridaceae, then comprising only one genus, Dipteris,^[11] due to the differences in sporangium, stomata and gametophyte.^[3]

The Latin genus name Dipteris refers to an amalgamation of two terms: di meaning two, and pteris Greek word used for ferns generally, meaning wing-like.^[12]

Taxonomy

Phylogeny of Dipteris[13][14]

D. conjugata Reinwardt D. shenzhenensis Yan & Wei 2021 D. wallichii (Brown ex Wallich 1828) Moore D. chinensis Christ D. lobbiana (Hooker) Moore

As of October 2019^[update], Plants of the World Online and the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World recognized seven species:^[15][16]

• Dipteris chinensis Christ – Tropical Asia and Australasia
• Dipteris conjugata Reinw. – Indochina to Australia (Queensland), and some islands in the Pacific Ocean
• Dipteris lobbiana (Hook.) T. Moore
• Dipteris nieuwenhuisii Christ
• Dipteris novoguineensis Posth.
• Dipteris papilioniformis Kjellb.
• Dipteris wallichii (R. Br.) T. Moore – India, Cuba, Hispaniola

Dipteris polyphyllus, a species from New Guinea has not been fully accepted as a species.^[17]

Distribution and habitat

Many species are found in Malaysia, Philippines, Samoa and New Guinea, growing beside Matonia (another fern species).^[5][10] Most of the species grow on rocks, exposed places, clearings and in thickets.^[18]

Fossils

The genus has been found to have been widely distributed during the Jurassic period,^[2] of the Mesozoic Era when much of the genus was widely distributed around Europe. Such fossils have been found in England, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Bornholm (island), Greenland, and Poland.^[10]