COMMENTS ON BATRACHOSPERMUM
Habit
Batrachospermum is a fresh water algae, commonly known as frog spawn: found in water aerated water of slow running streams and Margins of pond or lake.
Vegetative Structure
i) Reddish Flament:
The plant body is profusely branched into reddish or violet filaments with gelatinous texture. The main axis distinguished into nodes and internodes consist of a row of elongated cells placed one above the other.
ii) Dimorphic Branch:
There are two types of branches namely the branches of limited growth and branches of unlimited growth. The branches of limited growth are short composed of moniliform cells which terminate into hairs. They again rebranch producing clusters of brandes called glomerulus.
iii) Chain Of Beads:
The branches of unlimited growth are developed by elongation of a cell. It becomes long, giving nodes and internodes and produces the branches of limited growth from each node.
Sexual Reproductive Structure.
The sexual reproduction is of an oogamous type.
i) Spermatangium:
It is produced singly or in pairs in the distal end of each branch of limited growth. It is a small colourles rounded structure which develops into a single uninucleate non-motile spermatium or male gametes.
ii) Carpogonium:
It is produced at the terminal end of the carpogonial branch. It consists of a swollen carpogonium base carrying a single egg called carpogonium and a narrow elongated receptive neck called trichogyne each separated by a median Constriction.
Cystocarp or carposporophyte
It is the aggregation of gonimoblast filament, carposporangia and carpospore. It develops into a fruiting body called cystocarp after enveloping by vegetative cells and sterile carpogonial filament, each carpal sporangium produces single haploid round carpospore.
Asexual Reproductive Structure
chantransia stage:
The corpus pore after germination grows into a branched filamentous juvenile stage which resembles with the genus Chantransia so named as Chantransia stage. These chantransia filaments produce mono.spores.
The monospore is the asexual reproductive organ formed single inside the monosporangium produced at the apex of chantransia stage. The monospore germinates into chantrania stage again.
