Gil Martins Felippe

Germination and Morphology of Spores of Trichipteris corcovadensis

Several papers have dealt with the physiology of germination of pteridophyte spores. Published data show that spores of the majority of fern spores are lightsensitive. They also germinate in a wide range of temperatures, from 1?C (Pteridium aquilinum) to 35?C in the case of Onoclea sensibilis (Miller, 1968). To our knowledge, no research has been published in Brazil on the physiology of ferns, with the exception of the germination of spores of Cyathea delgadii (Marcondes-Ferreira & Felippe, 1984). In this paper a study was made of germination of Trichipteris corcovadensis (Raddi) Copel. This species is a tree fern that occurs in the Serra do Mar area of Southern Brazil (Tryon, 1970), at elevations from 250 to 2100 meters (Barrington, 1978). A study of the spore morphology of several specimens was also carried out. Spore morphology of the species has been studied previously as Trichopteris corcovadensis (Kremp & Kawasaki, 1969; Erdtman & Sorsa, 1971).

Mobilization of Storage Reserves during Cyathea delgadii Spore Germination

The majority of spores ofCyathea delgadii germinate during the first seven days after imbibition under constant white light. The fresh weight remains constant from day 0 to day 7, but the dry weight decreases. Lipids constitute about 43% of the weight of spores (day 0). There is a drastic reduction in the amount of lipids from day 0 to day 14. Proteins, soluble sugars, reducing sugars and starch increase from day 0 to day 14.