International Journal of Science, Engineering and TechnologyAuthors: Ramseena. A
Abstract: Pteridophytes constitute an important component of the flora of the Western Ghats, one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. Spore morphology has long been recognized as a valuable taxonomic character for species identification and phylogenetic interpretation. The present study investigated the spore morphology of selected pteridophytes collected from the Southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India. Twenty-one species representing 18 genera and 15 families were collected from diverse forest habitats. Spores were examined using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) following acetolysis preparation. Morphological characters including spore size, shape, aperture type, exospore thickness, and ornamentation were recorded. The study identified two major spore types, namely trilete and monolete spores, with considerable interspecific variation in ornamentation and dimensions. SEM analysis revealed diagnostic exospore patterns such as verrucate, reticulate, cristate, and granulose ornamentation that were not fully distinguishable under LM. The findings demonstrate that spore morphology provides reliable taxonomic evidence for distinguishing closely related taxa and contributes to the documentation and conservation of pteridophyte diversity in the Western Ghats.
