ON THE ANDROCYTE OF POLYTRICHUM, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE DREIERGRUPPE AND THE LIMOSPHERE (NEBENKERN)

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Abstract
The limosphere (nebenkern) of the Polytrichum androcyte is a complex structure composed of a plastid that is partially enclosed in a mitochondrial shell. This shell forms by the coalescence of the mitochondria found in the young spermatogenous cell. During or subsequent to the fusion of the mitochondria, a portion of the mitochondrial mass separates from the aggregate and becomes the apical body that is later attached to the anterior of the androcyte nucleus. A three-parted structure, the Dreiergruppe (DG), is found associated with the apical body and the flagellar bases. The element of the DG nearest the flagellar bases is composed of a band of parallel tubules, ca. 150 Å in diameter. These tubules extend over the surface of the nucleus for some distance and are thought to be the so-called filamentous appendage reported for bryophyte sperms, and the analog of flagellar "roots" found in certain algal cells.