Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee.
Planta. 1968 Jun;83(2):185-206. doi: 10.1007/BF00385023.
The leaves of the epiphytic fern Polypodium polypodioides, which lives on the branches of trees, are very similar to those of most higher plants except for the presence of scales on the dorsal side of the leaves. The structure of the cells of the chloroplasts and the mitochondria is the same as that of other higher plants. The only obvious difference found was that the contents of the central vacuole solidified when dehydrated. P. polypodioides was not damaged by loss of 97% of its normal water content and photosynthetic activity was found to be proportional to water content between 20 and 100% water content. When a dried leaf was immersed in liquid water, almost all of the original photosynthetic activity reappeared in the first 30 min of rehydration, provided incisions had been made into the leaf before drying.The rate of water uptake by intact (uncut) leaves was strongly inhibited by anaerobic conditions. This inhibition could be relieved by cutting the leaves, by supplying oxygen, or by removing the scales.Since in P. polypodioides the photosynthetic apparatus is not damaged by severe dehydration its quick revival does not depend on a special repair mechanism. Therefore, P. polypodioides should be a suitable object for a number of studies on the mechanism of photosynthesis.
附生蕨类植物蜈蚣草的叶子，生长在树枝上，除了叶子背面有鳞片外，与大多数高等植物的叶子非常相似。叶绿体和线粒体的细胞结构与其他高等植物相同。唯一明显的区别是，中央液泡中的内容物在脱水时凝固。蜈蚣草在失去 97%正常含水量的情况下并未受到损害，并且发现其光合作用活性与 20%至 100%含水量之间成正比。当干燥的叶子浸入液体水中时，只要在干燥前对叶子进行切割，在复水的最初 30 分钟内几乎可以恢复所有原始的光合作用活性。完整（未切割）叶子的水分吸收速率受到厌氧条件的强烈抑制。这种抑制可以通过切割叶子、供氧或去除鳞片来缓解。由于在蜈蚣草中，光合作用装置不会因严重脱水而受损，因此其快速复苏并不依赖于特殊的修复机制。因此，蜈蚣草应该是研究光合作用机制的许多研究的合适对象。
