Calciphilopteris is a genus of ferns in the family Pteridaceae. It is native to India and China, southward to Australia.Jovita C. Yesilyurt and Harald Schneider. 2010. "The new fern genus Calciphilopteris (Pteridaceae)". Phytotaxa 7:52-59. (See External links below). Its four species grow in crevices in limestone or they cling to the rock itself.
Taxonomy For a long time, the four species of Calciphilopteris were included in the polyphyletic genus Doryopteris. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that Calciphilopteris is the most basal clade in the subfamily Cheilanthoideae. It is thus far removed from Doryopteris palmata, the type species of Doryopteris.
Calciphilopteris was described as a new genus in 2010. The generic name is said to be derived from the Greek calx (limestone), philus (loving), and pteris (fern). Kalx can not be found in ancient Greek, however calx is the Latin word for "limestone",Lewis, C.T. & Short, C. (1879). A Latin dictionary founded on Andrews' edition of Freund's Latin dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press. possibly derived from ancient Greek chalix (χάλιξ) or derived from a word from a different Mediterranean language.de Vaan, M. (2008). Etymological dictionary of Latin and the other Italic languages. Leiden/Boston: Brill. The proper word in ancient Greek for "loving" is philos (φίλος).Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. Revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Species , the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World recognized the following four species: Calciphilopteris alleniae (R.M.Tryon) Yesilyurt & H.Schneider Calciphilopteris ludens (Wall. ex Hook.) Yesilyurt & H.Schneider Calciphilopteris papuana (Copel.) Yesilyurt & H.Schneider Calciphilopteris wallichii (J.Sm.) Yesilyurt & H.Schneider
References
External links Calciphilopteris At: Volume 7 At: Online content At: Phytotaxa Calciphilopteris At: Plant Names At: IPNI Calciphilopteris (exact) At: Names At: Tropicos At: Science and Conservation At: Missouri Botanical Garden