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Which stage of a plant life cycle produces gametes?
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plant reproductive system
A large bumblebee (Bombus species) pollinating a teasel flower head (Dipsacus species).
In the plant life cycle, the stage that produces gametes is the gametophyte.
This process is part of the alternation of generations, a cycle in which plants alternate between a sexual phase and an asexual phase. During the gametophyte phase, which is haploid, the plant develops specialized organs that produce eggs and sperm—collectively known as gametes—through mitosis.12
In contrast, the sporophyte is the nonsexual, diploid phase of the life cycle, which produces spores through meiosis. These spores eventually develop into the gametophyte generation, continuing the cycle.13