Gemma (botany)
A gemma (plural gemmae) is a single
In mosses and liverworts
The production of gemmae is a widespread means of asexual reproduction in both liverworts and mosses. In liverworts such as
The gemmae are bilaterally symmetrical and are not differentiated into dorsal and ventral surfaces. The mature gemmae fall on the ground and if conditions are suitable their germination starts immediately. The surface of the gemma which comes in contact of the soil gives out many rhizoids. This surface eventually becomes the lower(ventral) surface of the thallus. Meanwhile, the apical cells present in the two lateral notches become active and form two thalli in opposites directions.
References
- ^ "Pygmy Sundew Gemmae". Cascade Carnivores. 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
- ^ Hughes, Stanley John. On conidia of fungi, and gemmae of algae, bryophytes and pteridophytes. NRC Research Press.
- ^ Smith, AJE (1989) The Liverworts of Britain and Ireland, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
- ^ Kishan Gopal Ramawat, Jean-Michel Merillon and K. R. Shivanna (Editors) Reproductive Biology of Plants (2016), p. 70, at Google Books
External links
- Marchantiales – diagrams and micrographs of liverwort gemmae