This conglomeration of shapes and colors is a cluster of sporangia – known as a sorus – of a fern. A sporangium is where a fern produces the spores that allow it to reproduce. Get a closer view of the ...

The Spore the Merrier This colorscape of tubes and grooves is a cross section through the reproductive region of a fern. Ferns use spores to reproduce and spread, and here we can see these spores ...

The roots, stalks, and leaves of the familiar-looking fern are known as a sporophyte, which produces spores that are dispersed by the wind, which if successful will produce tiny new organisms.

Once fertilized, this “sporophyte” generation grows into the ferns we recognize and love. This process is quite complex! Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

If fertilization occurs, the egg cell grows into a young fern (sporophyte), and the life cycle of a new fern begins again, often taking several years to reach maturity.

If successful, these “little green valentines” will birth new sporophyte youngsters, which will eventually attain the size and appearance of the more familiar ferns once more. Once established, ferns ...

Fern shoot apex organization can be compared with that of seed plants. The control of leaf initiation and phyllotaxy remains poorly understood. Studies differ as to whether leaf initiation in ferns ...

Rudolph Serbet, Gar W. Rothwell, Characterizing the Most Primitive Seed Ferns. I. A Reconstruction of Elkinsia polymorpha, International Journal of Plant Sciences ...

The ferns’ reproductive cycle, distinguished from other plants by having gametophytes, works like this: • A mature fern, called a sporophyte, develops clusters of spores on the undersides of ...