CRITICAL HYBRID AND POLYPLOIDS FROM THE SIERRA TALAMANCA

entity	geography and ecology	known progenitors
a) the local allopolyploid P. lilianae Barrington	endemic to the Talamanca montane rain oak forests	Polystichum turrialbae Mexico to Bolivia, related to Mayan species.
b) the local allopolyploid P. talamancanum Barrington	endemic to the Talamanca alpine rain paramo	P. concinnum endemic to Talamanca, related to Mayan species.
c) the allopolyploid P. orbiculatum (Desv.) Fee	Mexico to Bolivia alpine rain paramo	*
d) the sterile hybrid P, concinnum 5P. speciosissimum	endemic to Talamanca alpine rain páramo	P. speciosissimum disjunct between Mexico and the Talamanca.

*Based on isozyme analysis (Barrington, 1990), the second progenitor of P. talamancanum is also one of the progenitors of P. orbiculatum. As small-spored specimens passing as P. orbiculatum are known from Venezuela (Barrington et al., 1986) this progenitor may be extant in the Andes.