Asplenium pseudocapillipes (Aspleniaceae), a New Fern Species from South Korea.

A new allotetraploid species of the genus Asplenium , A. pseudocapillipes , originated from the hybridization between A. capillipes and A. tenuicaule , has been newly discovered in two limestone areas of South Korea. A molecular phylogenetic analysis using one chloroplast region ( rbcL ) and three single- or low-copy nuclear regions ( AK1 , gapCp , pgiC ) and a cytological analysis, including genome size measurements, were conducted to characterize this new species. From these results, the maternal origin of A. pseudocapillipes was confirmed to be A. capillipes , which has never been reported in Korea. All three nuclear data showed that this new species had genotypes of both A. capillipes and A. tenuicaule . The quantitative characteristics of the leaves showed values intermediate between the two parental species. The absence of gemma accorded with its paternal origin from A. tenuicaule , and 32 spores per sporangium accorded with its maternal origin from A. capillipes . Although A. pseudocapillipes has 32 spores per sporangium, it is considered to be a sexually reproducing, not an apomitic, fern.