Luisma, a New Genus of Grammitidaceae (Pteridophyta) from Colombia

Abstract

dium (Bishop, 1978), Enterosora (Bishop & Smith, 1992), Grammitis sensu stricto (Bishop, 1977), Lellingeria (Smith et al., 1991), Melpomene (Smith & Moran! 1992) Micropolypodium (Smith, 1992), Terpsichore (Smith, 1993), and Zygophlebia (Bishop, 1989). Prior to these studiest Copeland (1952a, 1952b, 1955) dealt with various elements of Neotropical Grammitidaceae in a synoptical way, and Morton (1967) and Smith and Moran (in Moran & Riba 1995) treated grammitids from adjacent Ecuador and from Mesoamerica, respectively. Discovery of a new genus of ferns, based solely on previously undescribed species, is an uncommon event, notwithstanding several exciting discoveries in the last two years. Sun et al. (2001) recently described a new genus and species (Mankyua chejuense B.-Y. Sun et al.) of the eusporangiate fern family Ophioglossaceae from Cheju Island, Korea. Even more recently, Caobangia squamata (Polypodiaceae) has been described as a new genus and species from Vietnam (Smith & Zhang, 2002). In the Neotropics, the last such monotype named was Nephopteris maxonii Lellinger (1966), a poorly known plant (still known only from the type) from Colombia, a country generally acknowledged to be among the richest for ferns (as well as vascular plants) in the Neotropics, and also among the richest in the world (Cuatrecasas, 1958; Gentry, 1982; Moran, 1996; Rangel-Ch., 2000; Hammen, 1995). Below we describe another monotypic genus, Luisma, with its sole species L. bivascularis. The genus is known only from the type.