Ten new species of Selaginella (Lycopodiopsida, Selaginellaceae) from northern South America, primarily Venezuela, with a new status and combination, and distributional updates

As part of the Selaginellaceae treatment on the “ Lycophytes and Ferns of Venezuela, ” led by Alan R. Smith (UC), ten new Selaginella species from northern South America, primarily found in Venezuela, are described. These include S. cataniapensis Valdespino, sp. nov., S. cultellifolia Valdespino & C. López, sp. nov., (also present in Colombia), S. guaramacalensis Valdespino & C. López, sp. nov., S. liesneri Valdespino, sp. nov., S. mawarinumensis Valdespino & C. López, sp. nov., S. monoloba A. R. Sm. ex C. López, Valdespino & Mostacero, sp. nov.

(also present in Colombia), S. mostaceroi Valdespino & C. López, sp. nov., S. plagiochiloides Valdespino & C. López, sp. nov., S. tricula A. R. Sm. ex Valdespino & C. López, sp. nov., and S. turingiana Valdespino, sp. nov. Additionally, S. anemosyra Valdespino, nom. et stat. nov., is described and recognized at the species level, based on S. flabellata var. latifrons A. Braun. The new species are diagnosed using comparative morphology and contrasted with morphologically similar and closely related species.

For each taxon, we provide illustrations from digitized herbarium material and scanning electron micrographs, along with preliminary conservation assessments using the IUCN categories and criteria.