Answer: Ferns, seed plants, and gymnosperms (not mosses/liverworts where gametophyte dominates).
- A Mainly mosses, where the sporophyte is sometimes thought to overshadow the gametophyte stage
- B All land plants (embryophytes), sometimes mistakenly thought to be without any exception at all
- C Ferns, seed plants, and gymnosperms (not mosses/liverworts where gametophyte dominates)
- D Mainly algae, which are sometimes mistakenly thought to lack a true alternation of generations
Correct answer: C. Ferns, seed plants, and gymnosperms (not mosses/liverworts where gametophyte dominates)
Explanation: Sporophyte dominance: in vascular plants (ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms), the diploid sporophyte is the main plant. In non-vascular plants (mosses), the haploid gametophyte dominates. Trend in land plant evolution.
Structure of a mature flower. Image: LadyofHats (Mariana Ruiz), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Concept context
Asexual and sexual reproduction, flower anatomy, pollination, fertilization, and seed development.