Psilotum germination

[mel turner]

In article <3srtmp$qcc at rover.ucs.ualberta.ca> gpeterso at gpu2.srv.ualberta.ca (Greg Peterson) writes:
>I would like to propigate a _Psilotum_nudum_ and would appreciate any 
>advice on how to do this either vegetatively or, especially, via the 
>spores produced. Are there any special media required for the gametophyte 
>to ensure the production of a sporophyte?

     Large clumps of Psilotum can easily be divided, but it often seems to do 
better when crowded (over-divided and overpotted plants sometimes grow ok
but stop sporing for a long time).  Small pieces from  a clump taken along 
with their rhizomes are very  hard to establish.    Spores can be grown, but 
are very slow;  I saw a recipe by Bierhorst  that basically involved sowing 
the spores into old soil in a pot of Amaryllis or other plant (The mycotrophic 
gametophytes and rhizomes of Psilotum survive well in crowded  pots of other 
plants, and often one sees many volunteers in greenhouses). 
 mdt