Abstract: Spore morphology of 59 species belonging to eight genera of Aspleniaceae from China was observed under scanning electron microscope (SEM). The spores are monolete, bilaterally symmetric, elliptic, broadly elliptic or subrounded in polar view and kidney-shaped, elliptic, broadly elliptic or subrounded in equatorial view. The polar axes are 19-41 μm long, and the equatorial axes are 23-60 μm. The exospore is smooth and the surface ornamentation is formed by the perispore. On the basis of their ornamentation patterns, the spores are divided into six types. (1) Fenestrate. Spores of Asplenium griffithianum, A. pekinense and A. humistratum belong to this type. (2) Lophate. Spores of seven species of the genus Asplenium belong to this type. (3) Alate. Spores of 14 species of the genus Asplenium and of Boniniella cardiophylla, Camptosorus sibiricus, Sinephropteris delavayi, Ceterachopsis paucivenosa, Phyllitis scolopendrium, and Ceterach officinarum belong to this type. (4) Alate-lophate. Spores of twenty-one species of the genus Asplenium and six species of the Neottopteris belong to this type. (5) Corneate. Spores of Neottopteris latibasis belong to this type. (6) Sericate. This type is found only in Ceterachopsis latibasis. Some taxonomic problems in the Aspleniaceae are discussed based on spore morphology.

Key words: Aspleniaceae, spore morphology, pteridophyte, China