Spore
Definition
The reproductive unit of ferns, mosses, and fungi. Structurally distinct from pollen (no aperture in the angiosperm sense; trilete or monolete scars instead), but processed by the same palynological methods and equally useful as a provenance marker.
- Produced by
- Ferns, mosses, and fungi
- Wall material
- Sporopollenin
- Distinguishing scar
- Trilete or monolete mark
- Analytical method
- Palynology, same as pollen
Common questions
How is a spore distinguished from a pollen grain under the microscope?+
Spores lack the germinal apertures typical of angiosperm pollen and instead show a trilete or monolete scar left by the tetrad division, along with generally simpler wall ornamentation.
What can fungal spores add to a forensic palynology case that pollen cannot?+
Fungal spore assemblages can be more habitat-specific over short distances than wind-dispersed pollen, so they sometimes narrow a location estimate further, particularly for damp or decaying microhabitats.
Related terms
- Aperture
- An opening in the pollen wall through which the pollen tube emerges. Classified by shape into pores (porate), furrows (colpate) and combined...
- Colpus (Pl. Colpi)
- An elongated, meridionally oriented furrow in the exine. Grains with three colpi (tricolpate) include most eudicot flowering plants. The colpus can carry...
- Exine
- The tough outer wall of a pollen grain, composed of sporopollenin. Carries the diagnostic sculpture and aperture features and survives most preservation...
- NPC Classification
- A three-digit coding system (Number, Position, Character) for pollen apertures devised by Gunnar Erdtman. Allows rapid, reproducible sorting of unknown grains into...
- Sporopollenin
- The highly chemically inert polymer forming the outer wall (exine) of pollen grains and spores. Resistant to acid, alkali, oxidation, and biological...