Leptopteris

The Leptopteris is a small genus of ferns native to the New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. They are similar to ferns in the related genus Todea, and were originally included in that genus. However, the very thin fronds of Leptopteris differ from the thick leathery fronds of Todea, and the genera are considered distinct.^[1] A probable extinct species, Leptopteris estipularis is known from the Early Cretaceous of India.^[2]

Leptopteris Temporal range: Early Cretaceous–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
L. fraseri, New South Wales
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Osmundales
Family:	Osmundaceae
Genus:	Leptopteris C.Presl
Type species
Leptopteris fraseri (Hook. & Grev.) C.Presl

Species

There are seven living species and one naturally occurring interspecific hybrid.^[3]

• Leptopteris alpina (Baker) C.Chr. – New Guinea and Seram
• †Leptopteris estipularis (Sharma, Bohra & Singh) Bomfleur, Grimm & McLoughlin
• Leptopteris fraseri (Hook. & Grev.) C.Presl – eastern New South Wales and northeastern Queensland
• Leptopteris hymenophylloides (A.Rich.) C.Presl – New Zealand and the Chatham Islands
• Leptopteris × intermedia (B.S.Williams ex T.Moore) Gower (L. hymenophylloides × L. superba) – New Zealand
• Leptopteris laxa Copeland – Bismarck Archipelago and Solomon Islands
• †Leptopteris minuta Romanovskaja
• Leptopteris moorei (Baker) Christ – Lord Howe Island
• Leptopteris superba (Colenso) C.Presl – New Zealand
• Leptopteris wilkesiana (Brack.) Gower – Fiji, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Samoan Islands, and Vanuatu

Phylogeny

Phylogeny of Leptopteris^[4][5]

	L. fraseri (Hooker & Grev.) Presl (Crepe fern, Australia) L. superba (Colenso) Presl (Prince of Wales feather) L. hymenophylloides (Richard) Presl (Single crepe fern) L. wilkesiana (Brack.) Christ[6]