Question

Adult sporophyte and gametophyte are both free living in a

• A. Fungus
• B. Moss
• C. Fern
• D. Conifer

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Fern

Most of the algae have dominant gametophyte generations. But in some species, the gametophytes and sporophytes are morphologically similar. An independent sporophyte is a dominant form in all clubmosses, horsetails, ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms that have survived to the present day. The gametophyte is dominant in the mosses, liverworts & hornworts only. In mosses, the gametophyte feeds its small attached offspring sporophyte. The mature sporophyte is composed of a "foot" that remains stuck in the gametophyte moss carpet. The sporophyte stands above the moss mat as a long stalk and a capsule that looks like a salt shaker at the tip.
The sporophyte is dominant in all other plants: the ferns, club mosses, horsetails, the gymnosperm (conifers, cycads, ginkgo), and the angiosperm.
In gymnosperm and angiosperm, the entire gametophyte generation is miniature and contained in the cones or the flowers.