What is the ploidy of the fern prothallium?

The sexual form, called the gametophyte or prothallium, is a tiny kidney-shaped haploid (N) plant that is difficult to find in the wild. The asexual form, or sporophyte, is represented by the commonly known and cultivated fern plant, and is diploid (2N).

What is the ploidy of the fern prothallium?

The sexual form, called the gametophyte or prothallium, is a tiny kidney-shaped haploid (N) plant that is difficult to find in the wild. The asexual form, or sporophyte, is represented by the commonly known and cultivated fern plant, and is diploid (2N).

Where is the prothallium?

A prothallus, or prothallium, (from Latin pro = forwards and Greek θαλλος (thallos) = twig) is usually the gametophyte stage in the life of a fern or other pteridophyte. Occasionally the term is also used to describe the young gametophyte of a liverwort or peat moss as well.

Are ferns haploid or diploid?

Ferns and horsetails have two free-living generations: a diploid sporophyte generation (spore-producing plant) and. a haploid gametophyte generation (gamete-producing plant).

What are the stages in the life cycle of a fern?

bioweb. The life cycle of the fern has two different stages; sporophyte, which releases spores, and gametophyte, which releases gametes.

What is the gametophyte called in ferns?

prothallus
The prothallus is the fern gametophyte. It is a green, photosynthetic structure that is one cell thick, usually heart or kidney shaped, 3–10 mm long and 2–8 mm broad.

What is a fern sporangia?

Sporangium. The reproductive structures on the underside of the frond. Each sporangium is a capsule that contains spores. They are usually aggregated into clusters called sori. The position and arrangement of the sporangia are very important for the identification of ferns.

What parts of a fern are diploid?

The leafy fern with spores is part of the diploid generation, called the sporophyte. A fern’s spores don’t grow into leafy sporophyte.

How is fern life cycle different from moss?

Also, both mosses and ferns show alternation of generation. But, the dominant phase of the life cycle of mosses is the haploid gametophyte generation, while the dominant phase of the life cycle of ferns is the diploid sporophyte generation. Therefore, this is another important difference between mosses and ferns.

How does a fern begin the first stage of the life cycle?

Starting with the “fern” as we recognize it (the sporophyte), the life cycle follows these steps: The diploid sporophyte produces haploid spores by meiosis, the same process that produces eggs and sperm in animals and flowering plants. Each spore grows into a photosynthetic prothallus (gametophyte) via mitosis.