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The Pteridopsida is a class of plants in the Division Pteridophyta that includes all the leptosporangiate ferns. In the recent 2006 classification by Smith et al. the class is renamed Polypodiopsida. This recent reclassification of Monilophyte (ferns) is based on multiple molecular studies published since 1994 that have clarified some of the confusion of the placement and relations among fern families.[1] Polypodiopsida is one of four classes of Monilophytes (an Infradivision, this rank is not recognized by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature), the other three being Marattiopsida, Equisetopsida, and Psilotopsida.[1] ClassificationThe classification scheme proposed by Smith et al.(alternative names in brackets):
Discussion of Molecular ClassificationThere has been some challenge to the recent molecular studies, claiming that these provide a skewed view of the phylogenetic order because the studies don't take into account fossil representatives[2]. However, the molecular studies have clarified relations among families that were thought to be non-monophyletic before the advent of molecular information, which were left in their non-monophyletic ranks because there was not enough information to do otherwise[3]. The reclassification of ferns using multiple molecular studies, which have generally supported each other, is not any different from classifications of the past--it is the definition of the relations utilizing the all the information available. It does not discourage the further study and clarification of the groups, and does not mean that if further study proves the classification wrong, it will not be changed. References
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