Abstract: The spore morphology of 30 species 4 variety of 2 genera of Pteridaceae from China was investigated under scanning electron microscope (SEM) . Among them, 29 species 4 variety belong to the genus Pteris . The spores of Pteris are trilete , radiosymmetrical , subtriangular in polar view and hemispherical or subhemispherical in equatorial view . The polar axes are 26 - 54μm long , and equatorial axes are 34 - 97μm long . The perispore is thin and the surface ornamentation is formed by the exospore . The types of ornamentation are tuberculiform-rugulate , verruciform-rugulate or lophate , the spore of most species with the equatoial flange, some species with proximal ridge and distal ridge . The spore morphology of Pteris is stable, and the difference between species is distinct , but the features of spore and sporophyte are not related. The spore of Histiopteris is monolete and bilaterally symmetrical, elliptical in polar view and kidney-shaped in equatorial view . The polar axes are 22 - 23μm long , and equatorial axes are 29 - 36 μm long . The perispore is thin and the surface ornamentation is formed by the exospore . The surface is rugulate . The spore morphology of Histiopteris and Pteris is very differential , put genus Histiopteris in family Pteridaceae is not suitable, according to the feature of spore morphology .

Key words: Pteridaceae