Flexi Says: Plants have multicellular haploid and diploid stages in their life cycle. Gametes is developed in the multicellular haploid gametophyte. Fertilization gives rise to a multicellular diploid sporophyte, which produces haploid spores through meiosis. This type of life cycle is called a haplodiplontic life cycle. The gametophytes of nonvascular plants have distinct male or female reproductive organs. Male reproductive organs, called antheridia, produce motile sperm with two flagella while female reproductive organs, called archegonia, produce eggs. In order for fertilization to occur, sperm must swim in a drop of water from an antheridium to an egg in an archegonium. The fertilization results in a zygote that develops into a tiny sporophyte on the parent gametophyte plant. The sporophyte produces haploid spores, and these develop into the next generation of gametophyte plants. Then the cycle repeats.
