We conducted extensive fieldwork in the Tafea Province of Vanuatu from 2014 to 2021 as part of a long-term floristic study of plants and fungi as well as analyses of changes in forest structure and plant diversity in response to the category 5 cyclone Pam. As part of this work, we documented the vernacular names and/or uses of 10 species of lycophytes and 88 species of ferns. Vernacular plant names were documented in the languages endemic to the islands of Aneityum, Futuna, and Tanna, including Anejom, ∼ Futuna-Aniwa, Kwamara, Nafe, Naka, Netwar, Nahuai, and Whitesands. The uses reported by indigenous, Ni-Vanuatu, experts included: body decoration, cultural/spiritual, ornamental, clothing, food/food preparation, handicrafts, medicine, and fiber/construction.

The Thelypteridaceae is the second most species-rich fern family in the Solomon Islands, representing 47 of the 449 ferns and lycophytes from the islands and a third of its endemic pteridophyte flora. Recently, there has been a major effort to document the botanical diversity of this tropical island archipelago, which has resulted in the discovery and description of several new species of ferns. Here we describe two additional novelties in recently recognized genera, Grypothrix and Reholttumia. We hope that our study of these diverse and often narrowly restricted lineages will encourage others to learn more about these underappreciated islands, and these understudied taxa.

Revealing the unrecognized diversity within cryptic species has profound implications in the taxonomy, systematics, evolutionary studies, and species protections throughout plant groups. Isoëtes is prone to a high rate of cryptic speciation because of its morphological simplicity, stasis, and convergence. Phylogenetic studies revealed cryptic species in the genus from the Brazilian semi-arid region (the Caatinga), which comprises the least studied and most endangered flora in Brazil. Here we conducted morphological analyses and chromosome counts, and took advantage of phylogenetic analyses already published for the genus to provide a taxonomic revision of Isoëtes from the Caatinga. Isoëtes anamariae and I. harleyi are two new species, which were revealed by molecular data and subtle morphological characters. This study provides descriptions, chromosome counts, illustrations of the most important morpho-taxonomic characters of species from the Caatinga, and a key to identify them. All species from this region are diploid and we show the importance of diploids in detangling the origin of polyploids in Brazil.

The forests of Borneo are famous for their plant diversity, but this diversity is seriously threatened. Despite remarkable progress, the taxonomic status and geographic distribution of many species have not been clarified. Here, we explore the use of DNA barcoding to improve not only the recording of local species diversity, but also our understanding of the fern Tree-of-Life. We focused specifically on grammitid ferns collected at Gunung Tama Abu in Sarawak. The four new samples comprised three species of which two were studied using molecular phylogenetics for the first time. These three species were found to be nested in clades corresponding to the established generic taxonomy. The two sampled accessions of Acrosorus streptophyllus formed a sister clade to A. friderici-et-pauli. By increasing the inclusion of Acrosorus species from one to two in the assembled phylogenetic hypothesis, our results provide support to the monophyly of this genus based on DNA sequence data for the first time. The newly sampled Borneo accession of Scleroglossum pyxidatum was sister to a clade comprising accessions of S. sulcatum, whereas the sample of Prosaptia alata formed a clade together with other accessions of this species. In conclusion, DNA barcoding of samples obtained during fieldwork in remote but species rich places enhance the recording of the Tree-of-Life and enable the establishment of reliable DNA barcodes for species rich lineages.