2025/05/12 by Emily Sezate, Ruth Aguraiuja, Mike DeMotta +5 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Bryophyte Studies and Records #Fern and Epiphyte Biology #Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases
paper · doi:10.1640/0002-8444-115.2.126
openalex publication_date 2025/05/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Ferns are an important part of many ecosystems, especially on islands, but are often overlooked in conservation priorities. Fern propagation can be challenging and requires significant time and resources, especially for rare ferns with limited propagation history. Some fern spores can survive for decades in the soil bank and some dry adapted ferns may store well at room temperatures for several years. Herbaria have been proposed as a source of viable propagules of rare plants for propagation. We explored herbarium specimens as a source of viable spores for conservation of rare and endangered Hawaiian ferns. We examined 156 herbarium specimens for the presence of spores and sampled spores from 50 of them spanning four decades. Germination of spores occurred in 24 specimens representing eight of nine included species within the 15-month experiment. However, gametophytes from spores from only five specimens (10%) representing three species (33%) produced sporophytes during the experiment. While fresh spores provide higher germination success, sporophytes developed from specimens of Pellaea ternifolia collected in 1984, 1989, and 2018, as well as from a specimen of Cyrtomium caryotideum from 2019 and a Doryopteris decora specimen from 2020. This result confirms that herbaria can be a source of dry adapted spores of rare species or populations that may be extinct or otherwise difficult to source. Increased attention on rare fern propagation techniques is critical to successful conservation efforts from both fresh and dried collections such as herbarium specimens.