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Spore filaments in the ant-fern Lecanopteris mirabilis—an alternative viewpoint

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

Trevor G. Walker
Trevor G. Walker
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Biology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, U.K.
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Synopsis

Spores of the ant-fern Lecanopteris mirabilis (C.Chr.) Ching are discharged in groups of 16 spores per sporangium and are held together by long filamentous outgrowths of their surface. It is contended that the filaments are not primarily an adaptation to ant-dispersal, as has been suggested, but maintain genetic variability by promoting intergametophytic mating of the prothallial populations produced as an outcome of the spores being held together in clusters.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 86: The Biology of Pteridophytes , 1985 , pp. 111 - 114
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1985

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