Prothallia

Both male and female prothallia are much branched and very irregular in shape. ❋ Douglas Houghton Campbell (N/A)

Almost nothing is known of the prothallia of our native species. ❋ Douglas Houghton Campbell (N/A)

These look like small liverworts, and are the sexual plants (prothallia) of our ferns ❋ Douglas Houghton Campbell (N/A)

With care it is possible to get the mature prothallia, which should be treated as described for the fern prothallia. ❋ Douglas Houghton Campbell (N/A)

By and by, if our culture has been successful, we may find attached to some of the larger of these, little fern plants growing from the under side of the prothallia, and attached to the ground by a delicate root. ❋ Douglas Houghton Campbell (N/A)

The former produce male, the latter female prothallia. ❋ Douglas Houghton Campbell (N/A)

The sexual form, called the gametophyte or prothallia, is a tiny kidney-shaped plant and difficult to find in the wild.

_macrospores_, producing prothallia which bear respectively antheridia and archegonia; in the Lycopodiaceæ, the two kinds of spores produce very rudimentary prothallia; in the cycads and conifers, the microspore or pollen grain only divides once or twice, just indicating a prothallium, and no antheridia or antherozoids are formed. ❋ Various (N/A)

a spring pulling the sporangium open and shaking out the spores, which germinate readily under favorable conditions, and form after a time the sexual plants (prothallia). ❋ Douglas Houghton Campbell (N/A)