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How do gametophytes and sporophytes differ in ferns?

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Study the different ways mushrooms release spores and watch mold hyphae spread across bread — Reproduction Fungi produce billions of spores that give rise to new generations of fungi.

In the life cycle of ferns, there is an alternation of generations between two distinct phases: the sporophyte and the gametophyte.1

The Sporophyte

The sporophyte is the dominant, familiar fern plant consisting of roots, stems, and leaves. Its cells are diploid, containing two sets of chromosomes. The sporophyte reproduces asexually by producing haploid spores within specialized organs called sporangia, which are often clustered in structures known as sori on the undersurface of the fronds.2134

The Gametophyte

The gametophyte, or prothallium, is a small, typically heart-shaped, haploid plant that is usually only one cell layer thick. Unlike the sporophyte, the gametophyte is the sexual phase; it produces sperm and eggs via antheridia and archegonia. Once fertilization occurs, the resulting zygote develops into a new sporophyte, and the gametophyte typically withers and dies.241