A review of the fern genus Hypolepis (Dennstardtiaceae) in the Malesian and Pacific regions

Fourteen species and one subspecies of the fern genus Hypolepis Bernh. are recognised in the Malesian and Pacific regions, excluding Australia and New Zealand. Three species, H. hawaiiensis, H. malesiana and H. scabristipes, and one subspecies, H. elegans subsp. carolinensis, are described for the first time. Two widely misapplied names, H. punctata (Thunb.) Mett. and H. tenuifolia (Forst. f.) Bernh. are more clearly defined. Descriptions, distributional data and a key for identifying all fourteen species are provided. Five species, H. alpina, H. archboldii, H. bamleriana, H. malesiana and H. scabristipes, are confined to the Malesian region; four species, H. brooksiae, H. pallida, H. polypodioides and H. punctata, extend also to the Asian mainland; three species, H. dicksonioides, H. elegans and H. hawaiiensis, are confined to the Pacific region and two, H. glandulifera and H. tenuifolia, have a wide distribution from mainland Asia to the Pacific. Four species, H. dicksonioides, H. elegans, H. glandulifera and H. tenuifolia, are shared with Australia and New Zealand where a further eight endemic species occur.