Spore morphology and wall ultrastructure of Anemia Swartz species (Anemiaceae) from Argentina

RAMOS GIACOSA, J. P.; MORBELLI, M. A.; GIUDICE, G. E.

REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2012 vol. 174 p. 27 - 38

0034-6667

Spores of Anemia species that grow in Argentina are studied. The country corresponds to the southern limit in the distribution of the genus where nine species have been reported: Anemia australis, A. herzogii, A. myriophylla, A. phyllitidis var. phyllitidis, A. phyllitidis var. tweedieana, A. simplicior, A. tomentosa var. anthriscifolia, A. tomentosa var. tomentosa and A. wettsteinii. The material was examined using light microscope (LM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The spores are trilete of 42-114 µm in equatorial diameter and 34-106 µm in polar diameter. The exospore is 1.2-7 µm thick, two-layered; and two different ornamentations are observed: narrow and parallel ridges bearing baculae separated by wide and smooth grooves or parallel wide ridges with several ornamentations separated by narrow and smooth grooves. The perispore is 0.2-1.1 µm thick, two-layered, and it may be plane or echinate with echina of variable sizes and shapes depending on the taxa analyzed. Perforations are also present on the perispore surface. The differences found in exospore and perispore morphology and ultrastructure could be valuable characters for systematic, phylogenetic and paleobotanical purposes.