Campyloneurum is a genus of approximately 64 ferns in the family Polypodiaceae (order Polypodiales, class Polypodiopsida), placed in the subfamily Polypodioideae according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The genus was established by the Czech botanist Carl Borivoj Presl, who published the name in his Tentamen Pteridographiae in 1837. Members of the genus are commonly known as strap ferns, a name that reflects the characteristically simple, elongated, strap-shaped fronds found in many species.
The genus is predominantly Neotropical in distribution, with the great majority of species occurring in tropical and subtropical Central and South America. Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica together account for the largest share of recorded occurrences, though species extend across the Caribbean islands, into the Andes, and north into the southern United States. Several species grow as epiphytes in humid montane and lowland forest habitats, attaching to tree trunks and branches; others are terrestrial or lithophytic.
With around 64 accepted species, Campyloneurum is a moderately large genus within Polypodiaceae, a family that also includes the well-known genera Polypodium and Microsorum. Widely encountered species include Campyloneurum repens, C. nitidum, and C. brevifolium, all of which have broad distributions across the Neotropics.
Etymology
The genus name Campyloneurum was coined by the Czech botanist Carl Borivoj Presl and published in his Tentamen Pteridographiae (1837). The name derives from the Greek kampylos (curved) and neuron (nerve or vein), referring to the venation pattern of the fronds.
Distribution
Campyloneurum is concentrated in the Neotropics, with the highest species diversity and occurrence density in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, and Bolivia. The genus also occurs throughout Central America, the Caribbean (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico), Venezuela, Guyana, and as far south as Argentina and Paraguay. A small number of records exist in the southern United States (Florida and adjacent states).
Ecology
Most species grow in humid tropical and subtropical forests, where they occur as epiphytes on tree trunks and branches, as lithophytes on rocky surfaces, or as terrestrial plants in shaded forest understories. The genus is particularly well represented in Andean cloud forests and lowland Amazonian rainforest environments where high humidity and filtered light are characteristic.
