Order Hydropteridales

Order Hydropteridales

The Water Ferns (Hydropteridales) seem to represent another step up the evolutionary ladder, showing a feature that is found in more highly evolved plants: they have two kinds of spore. Large female megaspores eventually produce egg cells and small male microspores give rise to the male sex generation. There are two families: Marsileaceae produce male and female spores in the same capsule and Salviniaceae have male and female spores in separate capsules. The picture shows an enlarged section through a spore capsule of a Water Fern. [CH] {FG}