Pteris

Systematic position
Division : Filicophyta
Class : Leptosporangiopsida
Order : Filicales
Family : Polypodiaceae
Sub-family : pteridioideae

Common Indian Species

P.vittata,P.cretica,P.biaurita,P.ensiformis,
P.adscensionis,P.wallichiana etc...
 Occurrence of distribution
l Cosmopolitan fern being distributed in almost all
area.
l It prefers tropical and subtropical climates.
l Plants usually grow in well drained places or in
crevices of rocks.
l They are very common along the slopes of hills
and can be seen at 1200 metre above sea level.
l There are aboubt 250-280 species reported for
the genus.
 SPOROPHYTE

Morphology of Sporophyte
l Sporophyte is differentiated in to root,stem
and leaves.
l Primary root is soon replaced by the
adventitious roots.Roots are
slender,black,wiry and arise from ventral side
of rhizome or all over the Surface.
l Stem is
rhizomatous,underground,branched,perennia
l and covered by brown scales.some species
l Leaves-Macrophyllous,unipinnate or
imparipinnate(P.vittata)or
Bipinnate(P.biaurita).Arise aropetally on the
rhizome.Develped leaves are called fronds.
l Petiole base is covered with brown scales and
sometimes with ramenta
l Rachis has several sessile,lanceolate leaflets
arranged in pairs except the terminal one.
l Leaflet is rough ,has a midrib from which the
lateral veins with dichotomous branching
arise.Venation is open dichotomous venation.
l Younger leaves shows circinate vernation.
 Anatomy of sporophyte
1) Anatomy of Rhizome
l Rhizome is differentiated in to epidermis,cortex
and stele
l Epidermis-single layered with quadrangular
cells,covered by cuticle.
l Cortex-multi layered,differentiated in
toSclerenchymatous hypodermis and inner broad
parenchymatous region .parenchymatous region
has root and leaf traces.
l Stele-In p.vittata it is dictyostele with a ring of
vascular strand(meristele).
l Meristele is embedded in the parenchymatous
ground tissue.
l Each meristele is elliptical with single layered
endodermis having casparian strips in its radial
walls.
l 1-2 layered thin walled pericycle is present
below the epidermis and surrounding the
phloem.
l Phloem has only sieve cells and phloem
parenchyma.It completely surrounds the xylem.
l Xylem is present at the centre of meristele.It
shows central protoxylem surrounded on
either side by metaxylem.
l It consists of tracheids and xylem
parenchyma.
2) Anatomy of Petiole or Rachis
l It is differentiated in to epidermis,ground
tissue and vascular bundle.
l Epidermis-single layered with narrow
quadrangular cells coverd by thick cuticle.
l Some epidermal cells give rise uniseriate
bicellular hairs called as ramenta.
l Ground tissue-It has multilayered
sclerenchymatous hypodermis followed by
parenchymatous tissue in which the vascular
bundle is embedded.
l Vascular bundle-It is 'V' or 'U' shaped.
l It resembles meristele and has single layered
endodermis with casparian strips.
l Pericycle is 1 or 2 layered and
parenchymatous.
l Xylem is at the centre with mesarch condition
surrounded by phloem.
 3) Anatomy of leaflet
l It has epidermis,mesophyll and vascular bundle.
l Epidermis - single layered present on both upper
and lower surfaces.It has stomata only on the
lower epidermis(Hypostomatous condition).
l Mesophyll - either homogenous or differentiated
in to upper pallisade and lower spongy with
broader intercellular spaces.
l Hypodermal region of mid rib has
sclerenchymatous strips in both abaxial and
adaxial sides.
l Mid rib has single concentric,amphicribal
vascular bundles surrounded by single
layered pericycle and endodermis.
l Vascular strands are embedded in the
mesophyll.
 4) Anatomy of Root
l It is differentiated in to epidermis ,cortex and
stele.
l Epidermi-single layered with thin walled cells.A
few cells form root hairs.
l Cortex -multilayered and differentiated in to
parenchymatous outer cortex ,sclerenchymatous
inner cortex and single layered endodermis with
casparian thickenings.
l Stele -it has single layered thin walled
pericycle,central plate like exarch and diarch
xylem surrounded on either side by phloem.