I was just browsing ferns of Hispaniola. There are just over 200 species here but I can’t seem to make much sense of the fern families. Flowering plant families just seem a little more intuitive or maybe I can just follow the vocabulary and know better how families are defined for flowering plants. I have a number of ferns that I can’t get past the polypodiopsia level. It irks me that I can’t even reach family level. Can you point me to any resources to learn more or explain what I’m missing?
I could tell you who has been helpful to me and perhaps if you message them on iNaturalist they could point you to resources. Would that be useful, do you think?
For context, I am in YUC, MX.
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These images from Plant Systematics by micheal g. simpson 3rd edition, I reccomend chapter 4 for more info on fern families and their synapamorphies, can be found online
Trends and concepts in fern classification
A classification for extant ferns
A linear sequence of extant families and genera of lycophytes and ferns
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345156063_Evolutionary_Morphology_of_Ferns_Monilophytes
https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/IB181/VPL/SpheFe/SpheFe3.html
https://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.19.1.2
https://sites.duke.edu/pryerlab/files/2017/12/smith-et-al-2008.original.pdf
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Wow. Thank you for all these resources. I have some learning to get to.
Hi @rose! I was reviewing an Observation I tentatively (but apparently correctly!) identified as a fern today and followed similar Observations to this stunner in the DR, so I thought of you and your fern pursuits. The Observer of this would likely be an excellent resource. Hope your studies are going well!
edit to add: and this project!
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That’s definitely a stunner. I favorited it to be able to refer nack to it. Thanks.
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