ABSTRACT
Ferns have generally been neglected in studies of chloroplast genomics. Before this study, only one polypod and two basal ferns had their complete chloroplast (cp) genome reported. Tree ferns represent an ancient fern lineage that first occurred in the Late Triassic. In recent phylogenetic analyses, tree ferns were shown to be the sister group of polypods, the most diverse group of living ferns. Availability of chloroplast genome sequence from a tree fern will facilitate interpretation of the evolutionary changes of fern chloroplast genomes. Here we have sequenced the complete chloroplast genome of a scaly tree fern Alsophila spinulosa (Cyatheaceae).
