The Fern Prothallium 



covering of sprouting spores will appear on the surface 

 of the soil. Each spore that germinates produces a 

 green, more or less heart-shaped scale, no bigger than 

 the nail of the little finger. This little piece of plant 



FIG. 3. FULL-GROWN PROTHALLIUM SEEN FROM BELOW, SHOWING 

 ARCHEGONIA NEAR THE NOTCH, ANTHERIDIA AND ROOT-HAIRS 



TOWARDS THE Top. MAGNIFIED ABOUT 2$ DlAMETERS. (AfTER 

 LUERSSEN.) 



From " An Introduction to Structural Botany" by D. H. Scott. 



substance is called the fern prothallium. At this 

 point we notice another distinction between a seed and 

 a spore. A seed produces, without any intermediate 

 stage, a plant like to that from which it has come, while 



