Spore Pigments: Some Observations on the Distribution of Carotinoids and Chlorophylls in the Spores of Bryophyta and Pteridophyta

Abstract

The distribution of chlorophylls and carotenoids in both generations of the Bryophyta and the Pteridophyta is not at all well known. Goodwin (1963) says, "Very little work has been reported on the carotenoid distribution in these two classes of cryptograms, but reports available, indicate that the carotenoid mixture is very similar to that in Chlorella and other unicellular green algae." Douin (1956) studied forty species belonging to twenty-eight genera of the Bryales, and found that the carotenoid distribution was qualitatively very similar in all species, although some quantitative differences were noted. "L' équipement des plastes des Mousses en caroténoides apparaît très uniforme et ceux-ci varient quantitativement dans une large mesure d'une espèce à une autre." Alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, and what appeared to be neoxanthin were present, together with traces of flavoxanthin.