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Biosystematic investigations on the lady fern(Athyrium filix-femina)

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Abstract

In EuropeAthyrium filix-femina has a constant chromosome number (2n = 80) and is sexual. The normal type of reproduction is intergametophytic crossing. In the gametophyte phase there is a hormone system which induces dark germination of spores and antheridium formation. Sporophytes originating from single prothalli show that a genetic load is present in all population examined. It appears not to be a simple allelic load but a complicated balanced system. Morphological variability can be interpreted as the expression of the genetic heterogeneity of populations. There are no crossing barriers, not even between insular populations hundreds of kilometers apart.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Systematische Botanik, Universität Zürich, Zollikerstraße 107, CH-8008, Zürich, Switzerland

    J. J. Schneller

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Schneller, J.J. Biosystematic investigations on the lady fern(Athyrium filix-femina) . Pl Syst Evol 132, 255–277 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00982389

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