The spore capsules of ferns

Principle

Weedy fern plants are often found in moist forests. In the tropical regions, however, there are even tree ferns that can be up to 10 meters tall. The ferns do not belong to the flowering plants and therefore do not produce any seeds. Like the mosses, they reproduce by spores. On the underside of a frond (the leaf), there are small aggregations of spore capsules (sori). They show a regular arrangement and a species-specific pattern. The fern expert is able to identify a species on account of this characteristic pattern.

Benefits

• Experiment is part of a complete solution set with a total of 50 experiments for all microscopy applications
• With student worksheet, appropriate for all class levels
• With detailed instructor information, incl. sample microscopy image
• Optimized for tight schedules, i.e. minimum preparation time required
• Microscopy solution set specifically designed to include all required accessories
• Content available with matching multimedia files

Tasks

1. Examine the spore capsule of a fern plant.
   

Learning objectives

• Ferns
• Spore capsules
• Frond