Abstract: Ferns reproduce through small and usually haploid spores. The general paradigm states that whereas species produce good shaped spores, hybrids are sterile and form aborted spores. Apomictic fern species represent an unusual case, and it is believed that they produce an unbalanced spore spectrum. Until now, no comprehensive comparison of sexual and apomictic taxa using extensive spore fitness data has been published. Based on a representative data set of 109 plants from 23 fern taxa, we accomplished the first robust analysis of spore fitness using spore abortion index (SAI), the ratio of aborted to all examined spores. One thousand spores were analyzed for each plant. Focusing mainly on two major European fern taxa (Asplenium, Dryopteris), we compared this trait for different fern reproductive types (sexual/apomicts/hybrids) and ploidy levels (diploid versus polyploid). Our results confirmed the general assumption that shows higher SAI for apomictic taxa (18%) when compared to sexual taxa (3%). Furthermore, hybrids are characterized by having almost all spores aborted (99.8%) with the notable exception of pentaploid Dryopteris × critica (93.1%), the hybrid between sexual and apomictic taxa. We found no significant difference in SAI between sexual taxa of various ploidy levels or between sexual taxa of genera Dryopteris and Asplenium. Additionally, we carried out an optimization of the SAI method, outlying important guidelines for the use of this method in the future.

Abstract: The root, rhizome, petiole and blade anatomy of Ctenitis melanosticta was studied and compared with the available information for closely related genera. Root is diarc with sclerenchyma and parenchyma cells in the cortex, with fungal hyphae exclusively in the latter. The occurrence of sclereid nests in the rhizome is shared with Dryopteris and Campyloneurum. A cortical band was present in petiole and lamina, as in Dryopteris and other genera of the most derived ferns. The lamina had unifacial mesophyll and under the adaxial epidermis there were several layers of the fiber, as described for Elaphoglossum and Thelypteris, but differed from Asplenium, Dryopteris, and Polybotrya with collenchyma. The anatomy of C. melanosticta was similar to that of most species studied of Dryopteridaceae, although with some differences. Additional anatomical studies in species of Dryopteridaceae will allow to confirm the diagnostic value of several anatomical features, such as the lack of cortical band in the rhizome, the sclereid nests, the unifacial mesophyll, and the cortical band in the lamina.

Abstract: This article presents the records about four new Buckler fern (Dryopteris) species for the territory of the Re-public of Macedonia and new data about the distribution of some rare Buckler fern species. Dryopteris is one of the most complex fern genera in Europe. Hybridization and apomixis among some of the spe-cies contribute to difficulties and uncertainties for identification of individual species. That, coupled with lack of research on ferns in Macedonia for the last 30 years, resulted in a low level of knowledge within this vascular plants’ group. The field research of the flora of Macedonia and thorough check of two herbaria (MKMEL and MKNH) in Skopje revealed presence of four new Buckler fern species in Macedonia: Dryopteris affinis subsp. jessenii, D. ore-ades, D. mindshelkensis and D. expansa. Additionlly, several other localities for rare species: D. borreri, D. dilatata and D. carthusiana were reported. Further research is needed to fill the remaining gaps, particularly in relation to identification of hybrids and more detailed study of the distribution pattern of rare Buckler fern species.

Abstract: Fern is a vascular plant wich classified to the low level plants. Polypodiaceae is family of ferns with high diversity in the world. Ferns have sporophytes and gametophytes generation independently. In addition to morphology os sphorophytes, morphology’s gametophytes of ferns in form spores and prothallium also have potential diversity.of characters. That diversity need to be done research to identify the profile of spores dan prothallium characteristic of ferns in the Polypodiaceae family. The aim of this research is to identify the profile of spores dan prothallium characteristic of ferns in the Polypodiaceae family. The research method is conducted in stage: 1) takeing sample of 10 species Polypodiaceae family of ferns. These species is Adiantum caudatum, Asplenium nidus, Athyrium sp, Dryopteris concolor, Nephrolepis falcata, Phymatodes longissima, Pityrogramma calomelanos, Platycerium bifurcatum, Pteris ensiformis, Pyrrosia sp, 2) planting spores to produce prothallium, 3) observe the morphological spores and prothallium. Result of this research shows that spores of 10 species were observed have various form, that is include: ovatus, elipticus, reniformis, triangularis and serial irregular. Variety of surface ornamentation spores include: retiformis foveatus, granulosus, ruminatus, verruculosus, colliculotus, areolatus, and glabber. Prothallium of these species have elongated cordata and widened cordata shapes. The difference is showed on the edge of prothallium and the presence of additional part likes papila and trichomes on its surface. The layout of the anteredia of Platycerium bifurcatum and Pyrrosia sp is different from the others, which is located on the edge of the surface prothallium. The archegonia of all species is located near the notch of prothallium. Diversity characters of spores and prothallium can be use to classification and analysis of realationship of fern.

Abstract: Dryopteris blanfordii (C.Hope) C.Chr. is a member of the Dryopteridaceae, growing in high altitude Picea or Abies forests (2900-3500 m) in China and India. Phylogenetic relationships between D. blanfordii subsp. nigrosquamosa and closely related species of Dryopteris were investigated using a combined analysis of multiple molecular data sets (the protein-coding region of rbcL and matK genes and intergenic spacers psbA-trnH, trnP-petG, rps4-trnS, trnL-trnF and rbcL-accD). An assumption about the position of D. blanfordii subsp. nigrosquamosa within Dryopteris was made by using the Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference approach and chloroplast marker sequences of Dryopteris species from GenBank. The results demonstrated that Asian taxa D. blanfordii subsp. nigrosquamosa and D. laeta as well as two American species D. arguta and D. marginalis belong to the same clade, all four of them being part of Dryopteris section Dryopteris.

Abstract: We have constructed a phylogenic tree for green plants by comparing 5S rRNA sequences. The tree sug- gests that the emergence of most of the uni- and multicellular green algae such as Chlamydomonas, Spirogyra, Ulva, and Chlorella occurred in the early stage of green plant evolution. The branching point of Nitella is a little earlier than that of land plants and much later than that of the above green algae, supporting the view that Nitella-like green algae may be the direct precursor to land plants. The Bryophyta and the Pteri- dophyta separated from each other after emergence of the Spermatophyta. The result is consistent with the view that the Bryophyta evolved from ferns by degeneration. In the Pterido- phyta, Psilotum (whisk fern) separated first, and a little later Lycopodium (club moss) separated from the ancestor common to Equisetum (horsetail) and Dryopteris (fern). This order is in accordance with the classical view. During the Spermatophyta evolution, the gymnosperms (Cycas, Ginkgo, and Metasequoia have been studied here) and the angiosperms (flowering plants) separated, and this was followed by the separation of Metasequoia and Cycas (cycad)/Ginkgo (maidenhair tree) on one branch and various flowering plants on the other.

Abstract: The pteridophytes comprising ferns and fern allies constitute an important part in Nepalese flora. Pteridophyte flora of the Himalayan region is considered to be the basic requirements for the knowledge of pteridology. This paper aims to provide the overview of fern and fern allies present in the Nubri valley and its adjoining areas of Manaslu Conservation Area (MCA), Central Nepal. A total of 105 species belonging to 45 genera were recorded, with Dryopteris as the largest genera including twelve species followed by Athyrium, Pteris and Polystichum. With regard to habitats, most of the species were terrestrials followed by lithophytes and epiphytes.

Abstract: Supplementary data for Differential gene expression profiling of one- and two-dimensional apogamous gametophytes of the fern Dryopteris affinis ssp. affinis Transcript sequence in FASTA format (166'191 transcripts)

Abstract: Most woodland ferns thrive under conditions of high air humidity, frequent precipitation and exposure to extended periods of leaf wetness, but it is not known how widespread foliar water uptake is in this plant group. In a tracer experiment with deuterated water (2H2O) applied to the leaf surface of five temperate woodland ferns (Athyrium filix-femina, Dryopteris filix-mas, Polystichum aculeatum, Polystichum braunii and Asplenium scolopendrium), we tested (1) whether these species exhibit foliar water uptake and (2) whether the capability to absorb water through the leaf epidermis increases with the frequency of epidermal trichomes. All species had significantly higher abundances of 2H in tissue water, when extracted distant to the place of application, compared to the background level (0.052–0.504 vs. 0.015 at.%), evidencing uptake through the epidermis and leaf-internal translocation. A positive relation between trichome density and 2H incorporation was found only for the second-order pinnae but not for the more central frond sections. The results suggest that foliar water uptake may be widespread among temperate woodland ferns across different families and that leaf trichome structure probably influences this process.

Abstract: PREMISE OF THE STUDY Our goal was to infer the phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography of the genus Dryopteris with a focus on taxa in sub-Saharan Africa and neighboring islands. In general, little is known about the relationships between African fern species and their congeners in other geographic regions, and our aim was to determine whether the sub-Saharan African species of Dryopteris are monophyletic and evolved within Africa or arrived there via repeated dispersals into Africa from other regions. METHODS We obtained sequence data for five chloroplast markers from 214 species of Dryopteris and 18 outgroups. We performed phylogenetic and molecular dating analyses using a Bayesian relaxed clock method in BEAST with fossil and secondary calibration points and estimated ancestral ranges for the genus globally by comparing multiple models in BioGeoBEARS. KEY RESULTS We found that 22 of 27 accessions of sub-Saharan African Dryopteris belong to a large clade of 31 accessions that also includes taxa from Indian and Atlantic Ocean islands. Additional accessions of taxa from our regions of interest have Asian, Hawaiian, European, or North American species as their closest relatives. CONCLUSIONS The majority of sub-Saharan African Dryopteris species are descended from a shared common ancestor that dispersed to Africa from Asia approximately 10 Ma. There have been subsequent dispersal events from the African mainland to islands in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, including Madagascar. Several additional species are estimated to have descended from ancestors that reached Africa via separate events over the last roughly 20 million years.