Spores morphology of the family Pteridaceae from Shandong Province, China

In this article, we explored systematically the spore morphology of Pteridaceae by observation of the species distributed in Shandong Province using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the spore morphology of all the species in the family is tetrahedral and trilete. The characters of spore ornamentation are intraspecies stable, but significantly different among species and genera. Spore morphology is significant in exploring the phylogenetic relationships of Pteridaceae as well as in generic and specific delimitations.

Automated summary

The spore morphology of Pteridaceae is tetrahedral and trilete, with stable characteristics within species but significant differences among species and genera. This plays a significant role in exploring the phylogenetic relationships and delineations of genera and species within the family.