Ferns of Colombia
Colombia is estimated to harbor the highest fern diversity of any Neotropical country, with more than 1600 native fern species currently documented.
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The Ferns and Lycophytes Taxonomy and Evolution Program at BRIT is led by Research Botanist Dr. Alejandra Vasco.
The Program focuses broadly on taxonomy, systematics, and evolution of these two plant lineages. We ask questions about species diversity, evolutionary relationships among taxa, trait evolution using comparative methods, and the role that genes play in plant morphological diversity. Our work, whether on ferns or lycophytes, integrates techniques from several disciplines, including traditional specimen-based research in herbaria, fieldwork, anatomy, phylogenetic systematics, and evolutionary genomics. We are a diverse team with many ongoing projects. Check our research projects and write us if you are interested in joining.
En el Programa en Taxonomía y Evolución de Helechos y Licofitas estudiamos la taxonomía, la sistemática y la evolución de estos dos linajes de plantas. Nos hacemos preguntas sobre la diversidad de especies, las relaciones evolutivas entre taxones, la evolución de los rasgos utilizando métodos comparativos y el papel que juegan los genes en la diversidad morfológica de las plantas. Nuestro trabajo, ya sea con helechos o licofitas, integra técnicas de varias disciplinas, incluida la investigación tradicional basada en especímenes de herbario, trabajo de campo, anatomía, sistemática filogenética y genómica evolutiva. Somos un equipo diverso con distintos proyectos en curso y siempre estamos felices de tener nuevos estudiantes. Si estás interesado en unirte, explora nuestros proyectos y escríbenos.
Colombia is estimated to harbor the highest fern diversity of any Neotropical country, with more than 1600 native fern species currently documented.
We are interested in what the species of ferns and lycophytes are and where they occur—something often poorly known for tropical species—and the evolutionary relationships among the species. We generate phylogenetic trees based on DNA sequences that show how the species are related and use the trees as a framework for answering questions about character evolution, biogeography, and evolutionary processes.
Texas is home to more than 127 native species of ferns and lycophytes
The evolution of leaves changed life on Earth. We study the expression and phylogeny of leaf development genes in lycophytes and ferns to better understand the evolution and development of leaves in the land plants.
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