Growth, Development And Morphology Of Gametophytes Of Golden Chicken Fern (Cibotium Barometz (L.) J. Sm.) In Natural Media

The golden chicken fern, Cibotium barometz (L.) J.Sm., is an important export commodity for both traditional and modern medicine. To understand the reproductive biology of this species, spore germination, gametophyte development, morphological variation, and sex expression were studied by sowing spores on sterilized natural media consisting of the minced roots of Cyathea contaminan and charcoaled rice husks (1:1) mix. Spores of C. barometz are trilete, tri-radially symmetrical, non chlorophyllous, and golden-yellow with a perine. Six stages of gametophyte development (rhizoid stage, rhizoid/protochorm stage, filament stage, spatulate stage, young heart stage, matureheart stage) were observed between 24 -45 days after sowing. Spore germination of C. barometz is Vittaria-type. Prothallial development of C. barometz is Drynaria-type. Five morphological types of adult gametophyte were recorded: (i) irregular spatulate shape (male), (ii) fan shape (male), (iii) elongated heart-shape (male), (iv) short heart or butterfly shape (female), and (v) normal heart shape (bisexual). The presence of morphological variations is presumed to be related to the population density, which significantly affects the sexual expression of gametophytes. The variation of sex expression in C. barometz also indicates that this species may has a mixed mating systems that resulted in genetic diversity within population and among populations. Biodiversitas, Vol. 16 No. 2. October 2015. P: 303-310 ISSN: 1412-033X