Title: Stages of a Plant’s Life Cycle | Biology for Majors II
Headings: Stages of a Plant’s Life Cycle
Stages of a Plant’s Life Cycle
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Content: After reaching maturity, the diploid sporophyte produces spores by meiosis, which in turn divide by mitosis to produce the haploid gametophyte. The new gametophyte produces gametes, and the cycle continues. This is the alternation of generations, and is typical of plant reproduction (Figure 1). Figure 1. The alternation of generations in angiosperms is depicted in this diagram. ( credit: modification of work by Peter Coxhead)
The life cycle of higher plants is dominated by the sporophyte stage, with the gametophyte borne on the sporophyte. In ferns, the gametophyte is free-living and very distinct in structure from the diploid sporophyte. In bryophytes, such as mosses, the haploid gametophyte is more developed than the sporophyte. During the vegetative phase of growth, plants increase in size and produce a shoot system and a root system.