Dr. Alice Tryon has prepared a comprehensive study of the anatomy of fern spores, correlating evidence from scanning and transmission electron microscope studies. Fern spores are single-celled structures that have a major role in the reproduction and distribution of ferns. They are represented by extant lineages that flourished from Carboniferous times to the present. Connections between fossil and extant forms are often supported wholly on spore evidence. Thus, Tryon's work will be extremely important for those researchers studying the systematics and evolution of ferns. It will also be useful to petroleum geologists and stratigraphers. This award will provide a subsidy to partially defray the costs of publication of Dr. Tryon's manuscript, which is estimated will result in an 800- page book. The subsidy will lower the retail cost of the book from $400 to $100, thereby permitting individual scientists and libraries with limited budgets to purchase it.
