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?


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2 responses to “Dark Fern”

  1. Jane avatar
    Jane

    Some good questions for a quiz in there!

    1. scott avatar
      scott

      True, I believe we’re still waiting for the final quizmaster’s questions

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