FERN SPOROPHYTE
Most ferns are homosporous, with a dominant diploid sporophyte alternating with a minute haploid gametophyte. The sporophyte is dominent in terms of both size (larger) and in terms of length of existence (longer proportion of LIFE CYCLE). Polystichum munitum (sword fern) is common in the forests of British Columbia and a good example of a typical sporophyte.
An exception occurs with the water ferns, all of which belong to the orders Marsileales and Salviniales. All water ferns are heterosporous (spores of two types), and their spores grow into either male or female gametophytes. Click here to learn more.
SPOROPHYTE: