Fern spores of most species are desiccation tolerant (DT) and, in some cases, are photosynthetic at maturation, the so-called chlorophyllous spores (CS). The lifespan of CS in the dry state is very variable among species. ...

Background: Non-invasive procedures for the diagnosis of viability of plant or fungal tissues would be valuable for scientific, industrial and biomonitoring purposes. Previous studies showed that infrared thermography (IRT) ...