Xiphopterella devolii (Polypodiaceae), a new species and newly recorded genus in Taiwan.

Background: Grammitid ferns are a tropical monophyletic clade nested in Polypodiaceae, containing more than 20 genera and more than 750 species. Many of them also grow in Taiwan. During the survey of recent two decades, an unknown grammitid fern was discovered and the taxonomic treatment is given herein.

Paraphyly of organelle DNAs in Cycas Sect. Asiorientales due to ancient ancestral polymorphisms.

Background: This study addresses the apportionment of genetic diversity between Cycas revoluta and C. taitungensis, species that constitute the section Asiorientales and represent a unique, basal lineage of the Laurasian genus Cycas. Fossil evidence indicates divergence of the section from the rest of Cycas at least 30 million years ago.