The haploid, gamete-producing phase in the plant life cycle that develops from spores and produces sex cells through mitosis. In flowering plants, gametophytes are highly reduced structures like pollen grains and embryo sacs.
From Greek 'gametes' meaning 'spouse' or 'partner' and 'phyton' meaning 'plant'. The term was coined in the late 19th century as botanists developed the concept of alternation of generations and needed to distinguish between the sexual and asexual phases of plant life cycles.
Gametophytes are like plant dating services - their entire purpose is to produce and deliver gametes for reproduction! What's wild is that in mosses the gametophyte is the main plant you see, but in flowering plants it's microscopic and hidden inside pollen grains and ovules - evolution completely flipped the script!
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