Pleopeltis (Polypodiaceae) is a genus of about 100 mostly epiphytic fern species, primarily distributed throughout the American tropics. Species of Pleopeltis occupy a wide range of ecosystems—from pluvial lowland rainforests to dry alpine zones—and exhibit remarkable morphological diversity. However, frequent hybridization among species has made species delimitation challenging, and many taxa are known from only a few collections. Likely due to these complexities, no comprehensive monograph currently exists for the genus.

I’ve been lucky to be able visit many of the major herbaria across the Americas to study the full range of Pleopeltis diversity and to make new collections. These morphological insights, combined with genomic data, are helping to clarify relationships within the genus. To that end, I am building the first phylogenomic tree for Pleopeltis using the Genealogy of Flagellate Plants (GoFlag) target capture probe set, and my goal is to produce the first monograph of Pleopeltis, beginning with a systematic revision of the ~ 30 species found in Colombia.

I am interested in the macroevolutionary patterns of speciation, or more specifically, how and why there is an unequal distribution of plants on Earth. At the flora scale, I am investigating the dynamics of speciation, extinction, and migration that have shaped the lowland Chocoan fern flora and what role abiotic factors such as climate and mountain building have played in its diversification. To better understand how these forces have influenced the evolution of the Chocó flora, I am comparing patterns across multiple plant clades—including ferns, aroids, orchids, and melastomes—that differ in growth habit and in their levels of biotic interactions. By leveraging these contrasts, I aim to uncover how ecological traits and evolutionary history together shape the distribution of species we observe today. This work not only deepens our understanding of plant diversification in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, but also provides an evolutionary framework to guide conservation priorities in the face of rapid environmental change.

I am investigating the intersection of traits, ecological niche, and speciation in the evolutionary history of the fern genus Pleopeltis (Polypodiaceae). 

Field observations indicate that Pleopeltis species tend to exist in two ends of the environmental spectrum ranging from hyper-humid to arid. Two innovative traits in this clade likely facilitated opposing niche selection: absorptive laminar scales appear to be an adaptation to dry habitats and green (chlorophyllous) spores appear to be an adaptation to wet habitats. The species found at the ends of the ecological spectrum tend towards having a more extreme version of the two traits. Is the evolutionary history of Pleopeltis a result of traits responding to the exploration of new ecological niches or the exaptation of morphological traits that already existed? 

Through phylogenetic comparative methods, I am exploring whether these traits evolved in response to new ecological opportunities and how they may have contributed to the diversification of Pleopeltis.