PhlegmariurusvanuatuensisA.R.Field is described as a new species for plants endemic to the islands of Vanuatu that were previously identified withP.nummulariifolius(Blume) Ching. The Vanuatuan species differs from the widespread Asian-Oceanian species in several characteristics, most notably its acutely divergent leaf arrangement and thicker less branched fertile spikes.Phlegmariurusnummulariifoliusis here re-circumscribed as plants occurring in Asia and into Oceania as far east as the Solomon Islands, being replaced eastwards byP.vanuatuensis. In addition, new nomenclatural combinations are made forPhlegmariurusaustralis, a species from Polynesia and forPhlegmariuruscopelandianus, a species from Malesia.