Conocephalum conicum (L.) Dumort: A Case of Unique Reproductive Biology

Madhu Bhagat, Anil Sharma, Anima Langer

Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu, India..

DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2012.38138                

Abstract

This paper reports spore-elater ratio per capsule in three populations of Conocephalum conicum collected from different regions of Jammu and Kashmir (Doda, Ladakh and Bhaderwah). Spore-elater ratio came out to be 0.40-0.43:1, far less than expected for Marchantialian taxa. The ratios thus obtained were compared with that present in herbarium specimen collected in 1958 from Kyushu. The ratios have remained constant since many decades, thereby indicating that the sex-ual reproduction has lesser role to play in the propagation of this species.

Keywords

Reproductive Biology; Liverworts; Dioecious; Sporophyte; Spore-Elater Ratio

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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