Flora of the Southeastern United States

Pecluma bourgaeana (E. Fournier) L.A. Triana. Common name: Downy-ear Polypody, Comb Polypody, Swamp Plume Polypody. Phenology: Jan-Dec. Habitat: Terrestrial or on logs or tree bases in hammocks and swamps. Distribution: Ne. Florida (Duval County) south to s. Florida; West Indies; Mexico, Central America, and n. South America.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: See Assis & Zimmer (2014) and Smith et al. (2018) for discussions of the correct spelling of the epithet 'ptilodon/ptilota'. "Assis & Zimmer (2014) attempted to alter the spelling of the species epithet to Pecluma ptilota. They maintained that Kunze’s original Polypodium ptiloton was corrected erroneously to ptilodon by Hieronymus (1909), who altered the spelling from ptiloton to ptilodon as “mendo typographico” (p. 257). Hieronymus was clearly not speculating, or innovating, but rather making a definitive statement bolstered by a considerable amount of relevant literature, specimens, and other information. His correction was accepted by Christensen (1913: p. 257). Price (1983) accepted the Hieronymus correction in transferring the name to Pecluma, thus treating the epithet as a noun in apposition, and indeclinable. Assis and Zimmer (2014) contended that Kunze’s ptiloton was properly adjectival (“meaning winged or feathery”) and declinable, becoming ptilota under the feminine Pecluma. The matter appears still to be contentious and unresolved, as the spelling of the epithet has been further altered to “ptilotos” in IPNI (accessed 2 Feb 2017). We concur with Price (1983) that ptilodon is properly a noun in apposition, as treated by Hieronymus (1909), "who knew Latin and Greek etymology well" (Smith et al. (2018). The elevation of the "bourgeauana entity" to species rank renders this discussion irrelevant to the region (as long as that taxonomic conclusion is maintained)! However it raises a new orthographic issue. IPNI (2026) asserts that the epithet should be spelled 'bourgaeana'. "The varietal epithet bourgaeanum [of the basionym, Polypodium consimile var. bourgaeanum] was derived from Bourgaeus, Latinized form of the type collector's surname Bourgeau" (IPNI 2026).

Synonymy ⓘ: = Pecluma bourgeauana (E. Fournier) L.A. Triana — POWO; = Pecluma ptilodon (Kunze) M.G.Price ssp. caespitosum (Jenman) Windham — K1, NS; = Pecluma ptilodon (Kunze) M.G.Price var. bourgeauana (E.Fourn.) A.R.Sm. — WH3, Mickel & Smith (2004), Smith et al (2018); = Pecluma ptilodon (Kunze) M.G.Price var. caespitosa (Jenman) Lellinger — Fl1, FNA2, Meso1; = Pecluma ptilota var. bourgeauana — K4; = Polypodium consimile Mett. var. bourgaeanum E. Fournier; = Polypodium ptilodon Kunze var. caespitosum (Jenman) A.M.Evans — SFla; < Pecluma pectinata (L.) M.G.Price; < Polypodium pectinatum L. — S13, Sf. Basionym: Polypodium consimile Mett. var. bourgaeanum E. Fournier 1872

Links to other floras: = Pecluma ptilodon var. caespitosa - FNA2

Show in key(s)

Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)

Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FAC (name change)

Heliophily ⓘ: 2