27 September - 26 October 1998 Dr. Jean-Yves Dubuisson Laboratoire de Paléobotanique et Paléoécologie Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France During his month stay at The Field Museum, Jean-Yves DuBuisson, in collaboration with Kathleen Pryer, initiated DNA sequencing studies of the chloroplast rbcL gene to estimate a phylogeny for the most diverse basal lineage of ferns, the Hymenophyllaceae, or "filmy ferns". The results of this work were presented at the 1999 International Botanical Congress in St. Louis, MO. An overall phylogenetic framework for filmy ferns will be used to assess the evolution of characters that may have been correlated to the radiation and diversification of these ferns. This in turn will permit rigorous testing of questions related to epiphytism, biogeography, and the ecological success of this group.

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