(French West Indies)boj_1 - CNCFlora

214 M. J. M. CHRISTENHUSZ
in comparison with, for instance, Europe (c. 145 fern
species) or the USA excluding Hawaii (with only 280
fern species). Even although this wealth of ferns in
Guadeloupe has been previously reported (Proctor,
1977; Lazare, Vivant & Sastre, 1991; Vivant, 1996),
the ferns were excluded in a recent flora of Martinique
and Guadeloupe (Fournet, 2002). Ferns were,
however, included in the checklist of Fournet & Hoff
(1999), which was the basis of Fournet’s (2002) flora,
but their checklist of the ferns was not exhaustive
and the nomenclature and typification of the ferns
remained in need of revision.
Field surveys in 2003 and 2005 (Christenhusz,
2006) and herbarium studies in BM, GUAD, IJ, K, P,
RB and TUR have resulted in the review presented
here of the pteridophyte diversity of the islands of
Guadeloupe, listing all ferns and club mosses found in
the archipelago. The total count is 313 pteridophyte
taxa, comprising 303 species, two subspecies and
eight varieties. Seven taxa are endemic to Guadeloupe
[Blechnum rufum (Spreng.) C.Chr., Grammitis
stipitata Proctor, Lindsaea lherminieri Fée, Megalastrum
macrothecum (Fée) A.R.Sm. & R.C.Moran,
Polystichopsis villosa (Fée) Christenh., Polystichum
guadalupense Fée and Terpsichore ¥ victorhugoensis
Christenh.] and an additional 21 taxa are only known
from the Lesser Antilles. Twenty-one exotic species
have established themselves in Guadeloupe, mostly
escaped garden plants, although the introduction of
others, especially species of Pteridaceae and Thelypteridaceae
was less intentional.
Some native species are seriously endangered in
Guadeloupe. Metaxya rostrata (Kunth) C.Presl is a
good example of a species that was abundant in
historical times, but has not been collected during the
last century. This species is common in South
America, but Guadeloupe was the only Caribbean
island where it occurred. It most probably became
extinct as a result of forest clearing at lower elevations
for banana and pineapple plantations. Other
species that have not been found during the last 50
years are Elaphoglossum decoratum (Kunze) T.Moore,
Ophioglossum palmatum L., Polybotrya cyathifolia
Fée & l’Herm., Polystichum rhizophyllum (Sw.)
C.Presl and Schizaea pennula Sw., and the endemics
Polystichopsis villosa and Polystichum guadalupense.
Additionally, Diplazium apollinaris l’Herm. ex Fée, D.
godmanii (Baker) C.Chr., D. unilobum (Poir.) Hieron.
and Polytaenium dussianum (Benedict) Benedict
have not been found in recent times. This is undoubtedly
because of habitat destruction as a result of
hurricanes (such as cyclone Hugo in 1989) and
perhaps also because of volcanic eruptions. After the
last volcanic eruption of La Soufrière in 1976–1977,
Sastre, Baudoin & Portecop (1983) listed Huperzia
intermedia Trevis., Odontosoria flexuosa (Spreng. ex
Kunze) Maxon and Selaginella serpens (Desv.) Spring
among the species that disappeared. The first two
species were, however, recorded again by Vivant
(1996), so some species appear to be able to survive
these destructive forces of nature. Further research
on the causes of rarity of some Guadeloupean species
is necessary and the extinct species are included in
the checklist because they may be found again in thus
far unexplored areas of Guadeloupe.
This checklist is a prerequisite to ongoing floristic
research of the Lesser Antillean islands. The taxonomic
revision will be a valuable aid to other
researchers of neotropical ferns.
HISTORY OF FERN STUDIES IN GUADELOUPE
The first known plant specimens from Guadeloupe
were collected by the Austrian naturalist N. J. F.
Jacquin in 1759, followed by the French botanist L. C.
Richard in 1786–1786 and the Italian naturalist C. G.
Bertero in 1816–1818 (Proctor, 1977). The Swedish
botanist J. E. Wikström (1826) published a floristic
overview of the island of St Barthélemy, which was
then in Swedish possession. This publication was
soon followed by a discussion of the vegetation of
Guadeloupe (Wikström, 1828). Wikström undoubtedly
based his work on collections by J. E. Forrström, who
collected there between 1805 and 1812.
In 1798, pharmacist Félix Louis l’Herminier (1779–
1833) moved to Guadeloupe, where he became interested
in the natural history of the island. His son
Ferdinand Joseph l’Herminier (1802–1866) followed
in his father’s footsteps and made a vast number of
collections. The l’Herminier collections were sent to
the herbarium in Strasbourg (STR; now incorporated
in P), from where many duplicates have since been
distributed to various other herbaria around the
world, most notably to BM, IJ and RB. The work of
the l’Herminiers inspired many other botanists to
visit the island, e.g. A. Plée (collections 1820), G. S.
Perrotet (collections 1824 and 1841), Beaupertuis
(collections 1839), J. J. Linden (collections 1845), E.
Germain (collections 1853), H. P. Mazé (collections
between 1851 and 1892; Mazé, 1892) and C. Thiébaut
(collections from 1867 to 1877). While the interest in
ferns increased in Europe and the demand for exotic
ferns grew, more and more ferns were collected and
described from Guadeloupe.
French botanist Antoine Laurent Apollinaire Fée,
Professor of Botany in the University of Strasbourg
and director of the Botanical Society of France, published
the Mémoires sur la famille des fougères, a
series of volumes dealing with the taxonomy of ferns,
in which he described many new species based on
collections sent to him. In volume 11 of the Mémoires
he gave an elaborate dissertation on the ferns of the
© 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 161, 213–277