Cyclopeltis J.Sm., Bot. Mag.

Kessler, Michael & Smith, Alan R., 2018, Prodromus of a fern flora for Bolivia. XXXVI. Lomariopsidaceae, Phytotaxa 344 (1), pp. 87-90 : 88

Cyclopeltis J.Sm., Bot. Mag. 72: 36. 1846.

A pantropical genus of 6 species, only one of them in the Americas, characterized by articulate pinnae, lacking stolons, having a conform apical pinna, more than one row of round sori between the costae and the margins and these protected by centrally attached, peltate indusia. As for this family, the systematic position of the genus was long unclear until shown to belong to the Lomariopsidaceae ( Lu & Li 2005, Christenhusz et al. 2013, Zhang et al. 2016, Chen et al. 2017). In Bolivia, Cyclopeltis is most similar to Nephrolepis ( Nephrolepidaceae ), but the latter has only one row of sori on each side of the costae, wiry stolons, and reniform or round-reniform indusia, each attached at a narrow to broad sinus. Superficially similar species of Serpocaulon ( Polypodiaceae ; Smith et al., in press) have distinctly areolate venation, long-creeping rhizomes, and exindusiate sori. The pinnae of Cyclopeltis are articulate to the rachises, but the articulations appear non-functional, unlike Nephrolepis where the pinnae abscise.