Plan the perfect garden with our interactive tool →

The Life Cycle of Dryopteris

...
"Fern detail" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: net_efekt (Christian Guthier) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

Dryopteris are ferns consisting of a horizontal root growing in soil called a rhizome and leaves called fronds projecting upward. Each frond is roughly triangular, with branches along either side of a stem with many small oblong leaflets. Frond sprouts are called "fiddleheads" for their resemblance to the head of a violin.

Spore Production

The Drypoteris fern life cycle begins with a spore. On the underside of each frond are tiny, dark spots called sori that contain growths called sporangia that produce and release spores.

Gametophyte

Each spore will eventually fall to the ground. Those that germinate will form a gametophyte. The gametophyte will then grow, forming a leaf-like structure that attaches to the ground using root-like rhizoids.

  • Dryopteris are ferns consisting of a horizontal root growing in soil called a rhizome and leaves called fronds projecting upward.
  • The gametophyte will then grow, forming a leaf-like structure that attaches to the ground using root-like rhizoids.

Sex Organs

When the gametophyte matures it produces sex organs.The male organs are called antheridia and the female, archegonia, both of which develop on the bottom surface of the gametophyte.

Sexual Reproduction

The antheridia produce flagellate sperm that will swim through a film of water to the archegonia. The sperm then fertilizes an egg within each archegonium.

Zygote

The fertilization process will produce a zygote which will then grow from within the gametophyte. Rhizomes will develop beneath the soil and fiddleheads will sprout, shooting up from the rhizome to form a sporophyte.

Sporophyte

The fiddleheads of the sporophyte will then unfold into fronds containing more sori. The new sori will eventually release spores, continuing the reproductive cycle.

  • When the gametophyte matures it produces sex organs.
  • The fertilization process will produce a zygote which will then grow from within the gametophyte.

Related Articles

Parts of a Fern Plant
Parts of a Fern Plant
Are Ferns Non-Vascular?
Are Ferns Non-Vascular?
Life Cycle of a Nonvascular Plant
Life Cycle of a Nonvascular Plant
Parts of a Boston Fern
Parts of a Boston Fern
What Phylum Are Ferns In?
What Phylum Are Ferns In?
Life Cycle of the Mung Bean
Life Cycle of the Mung Bean
Life Cycle of a Non-Flowering Plant
Life Cycle of a Non-Flowering Plant
The Parts of a Growing Bean Seed
The Parts of a Growing Bean Seed
How to Trim an Asparagus Fern
How to Trim an Asparagus Fern
Life Cycle of a Heterosporous Plant
Life Cycle of a Heterosporous Plant
What Parts Do Non-Vascular Plants Have?
What Parts Do Non-Vascular Plants Have?
Descriptions of Ferns
Descriptions of Ferns
Linnaeus Classification of Ferns
Linnaeus Classification of Ferns
What Is a Plant Vein?
What Is a Plant Vein?
Garden Guides
×