Abstract:Two culture methods, sterilized MS medium and garden soil medium, were comparatively studied for spore germination of Dryopteris varia, with the observation of its gametophyte development under light microscope. The results revealed that the differences between the sterilized 1/2MS and MS culture media with 2% sucrose were very little in terms of the germination time and germination rate, but the former was much suitable for spore germination and the latter for the formation of sporophyte. The experiment also showed that in the 1/2MS culture medium 1% sucrose content was more appropriate for spore germination than others. Garden soil medium was testified to have shorter germination time and higher germination rate, but the formation of sporophyte on soil was obviously later than those on MS culture media. The process of spore germination in D. varia is attributed to Vittaria-type, and that of gametophyte development belongs to Aspidium-type. This feature is consistent with that in Dryopteris Adanson.
