THE GENUS DRYOPTERIS (PTERIDOPHYTA: DRYOPTERIDACEAE) IN THE FLORA OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA – 30 YEARS AFTER MICEVSKI’S FLORA –

Ljupcho Melovski

doi:10.20903/csnmbs.masa.2016.37.2.86

Abstract

This article presents the records about four new Buckler fern (Dryopteris) species for the territory of the Re-public of Macedonia and new data about the distribution of some rare Buckler fern species.Dryopteris is one of the most complex fern genera in Europe. Hybridization and apomixis among some of the spe-cies contribute to difficulties and uncertainties for identification of individual species. That, coupled with lack of research on ferns in Macedonia for the last 30 years, resulted in a low level of knowledge within this vascular plants’ group.The field research of the flora of Macedonia and thorough check of two herbaria (MKMEL and MKNH) in Skopje revealed presence of four new Buckler fern species in Macedonia: Dryopteris affinis subsp. jessenii, D. ore-ades, D. mindshelkensis and D. expansa. Additionlly, several other localities for rare species: D. borreri, D. dilatata and D. carthusiana were reported.Further research is needed to fill the remaining gaps, particularly in relation to identification of hybrids and more detailed study of the distribution pattern of rare Buckler fern species.

Highlights

Buckler fern (Dryopteris Adans.) stands for one of the most complex genera among the European pteridophytes
Beside the relatively high number of species in the genus, the complexity comes from the high level of hybridization among many different species and subsequent apomictic reproduction characteristics for some of the species (Dryopteris affinis group in particular), Fraser-Jenkins [3, 4]
There was considerable confusion about Dryopteris taxonomy, resulting with complex synonymy and different treatment in existing standard floras, which makes identification of the particular species difficult and in some cases problematic. This stands for the taxa of D. affinis group for which the concept of Fraser-Jenkins [4] is accepted by the majority of researcher [2]

Summary

Introduction

Buckler fern (Dryopteris Adans.) stands for one of the most complex genera among the European pteridophytes. Beside the relatively high number of species in the genus, the complexity comes from the high level of hybridization among many different species and subsequent apomictic reproduction characteristics for some of the species (Dryopteris affinis group in particular), Fraser-Jenkins [3, 4]. There was considerable confusion about Dryopteris taxonomy, resulting with complex synonymy and different treatment in existing standard floras, which makes identification of the particular species difficult and in some cases problematic. This stands for the taxa of D. affinis group for which the concept of Fraser-Jenkins [4] is accepted by the majority of researcher (see Euro+Med PlantBase) [2]

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Results