Fig. 310.
Fertilization in a fern
(Marattia).
sp, spermatozoid fusing with
the nucleus of the egg.
(After Campbell.)
557. Archegonia.—If we now examine closely on the thicker part of the under surface of the prothallium, just back of the “sinus,” we may see longer stout projections from the surface of the prothallium. These are shown in [fig. 297]. They are the archegonia. One of them in longisection is shown in [fig. 308]. It is flask-shaped, and the broader portion is sunk in the tissue of the prothallium. The egg is in the larger part. The spermatozoids when they are swimming around over the under surface of the prothallium come near the neck, and here they are caught in the viscid substance which has oozed out of the canal of the archegonium. From here they slowly swim down the canal, and finally one sinks into the egg, fuses with the nucleus of the latter, and the egg is then fertilized. It is now ready to grow and develop into the fern plant. This brings us back to the sporophyte, which begins with the fertilized egg.
[Sporophyte.]
558. Embryo.—The egg first divides into two cells as shown in [fig. 228], then into four. Now from each one of these quadrants of the embryo a definite part of the plant develops, from one the first leaf, from one the stem, from one the root, and from the other the organ which is called the foot, and which attaches the embryo to the prothallium, and transports nourishment for the embryo until it can become attached to the soil and lead an independent existence. During this time the wall of the archegonium grows somewhat to accommodate the increase in size of the embryo, as shown in figs. [312], [313]. But soon the wall of the archegonium is ruptured and the embryo emerges, the root attaches itself to the soil, and soon the prothallium dies.
Fig. 311.
Two-celled embryo of Pteris serrulata.
Remnant of archegonium neck below.
The embryo is first on the under side of the prothallium, and the first leaf and the stem curves upward between the lobes of the heart-shaped body, and then grows upright as shown in [fig. 314]. Usually only one embryo is formed on a single prothallium, but in one case I found a prothallium with two well-formed embryos, which are [figured in 315].
559. Comparison of ferns with liverworts and mosses.—In the ferns then we have reached a remarkable condition of things as compared with that which we found in the mosses and liverworts. In the mosses and liverworts the sexual phase of the plant (gametophyte) was the prominent one, and consisted of either a thallus or a leafy axis, but in either case it bore the sexual organs and led an independent existence; that is it was capable of obtaining its nourishment from the soil or water by means of organs of absorption belonging to itself, and it also performed the office of photosynthesis.
Fig. 312.