Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Which lower vascular plant groups are heterosporous?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
lower vascular plant
Aleutian maidenhair fern (Adiantum aleuticum) of the Pacific Northwest.
While most lower vascular plants are homosporousāproducing morphologically identical sporesāa few specific groups exhibit heterospory, a condition characterized by the production of two distinct types of spores: larger megaspores (female) and smaller microspores (male).12
The lower vascular plant groups that are heterosporous include:
- Lycophytes: Specifically the spike mosses (Selaginella) and the quillworts (Isoetes).31
- Ferns: Certain water-fern families, specifically Marsileaceae, Salviniaceae, and Azollaceae.1
In these plants, the two spore types develop into separate male and female gametophytes, which facilitates cross-fertilization and increases genetic recombination.412