Dark Fern

Ferns are an ancient type of plant, so old in fact that they pre-date the seed (they have spores instead).

What did this image teach me?

The life cycle of a fern, everybody…

The life cycle of a typical fern proceeds as follows:

1. A diploid sporophyte phase produces haploid spores by meiosis (a process of cell division which reduces the number of chromosomes by a half).
2. A spore grows into a free-living haploid gametophyte by mitosis (a process of cell division which maintains the number of chromosomes). The gametophyte typically consists of a photosynthetic prothallus.
3. The gametophyte produces gametes by mitosis.
4. A mobile, flagellate sperm fertilizes an egg that remains attached to the prothallus.
5. The fertilized egg is now a diploid zygote and grows by mitosis into a diploid sporophyte (the typical fern plant).

Simple, huh?