Fern Reproduction at Woodman Hollow, Central Iowa: Preliminary Observations and a Consideration of the Feasibility of Studying Fern Reproductive Biology in Nature

Authors

Donald R. Farrar, Iowa State UniversityFollow
Robert D. Gooch

Document Type

Research

Keywords

Ferns, Fern Gametophytes, Fern Reproduction, Woodman Hollow in Iowa

Abstract

Field observations of spore availability, gametophyte establishment and survival, and sporophyte production were made over a one-year period. Maximum spore release for most species occurred shortly after spore maturation in mid to late summer, but some spores remained on sporophyte fronds through the winter and were available for germination the following spring. Gametophytes of Cystopteris fragilis, Woodsia obtusa and Adiantum pedatum became established in late summer and fall. Production of sporophytes occurred both in fall and in the following spring. Both gametophytes and juvenile sporophytes survived the winter in relatively unchanged condition. Results indicate that it is feasible and important to correlate field studies with current laboratory studies of fern reproductive biology.

Publication Date

July 1975

Journal Title

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

82

Issue

2

First Page

119

Last Page

122

Copyright

©1975 Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Farrar, Donald R. and Gooch, Robert D. (1975) "Fern Reproduction at Woodman Hollow, Central Iowa: Preliminary Observations and a Consideration of the Feasibility of Studying Fern Reproductive Biology in Nature," Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, 82(2), 119-122.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol82/iss2/11