1. Individual plants are either male producing microspores or female producing megaspores . 2. These plants have two spore types, megaspores and microspores. 3. The megaspore then undergoes megagametogenesis to give rise to the female gametophyte. 4. Megaspores are gray or black, 350-480 ?m in diameter.5. A megasporocyte inside a megasporangium or ovule undergoes meiosis, producing four megaspores . 6. Only one is a functional megaspore whereas the others stay dysfunctional or degenerate. 7. The megaspores become megagametophytes ( embryo sacs ). 8. This type of megagametophyte develops from the megaspore through three rounds of mitotic divisions. 9. The best way to identify them is by examining the megaspores under a microscope. 10. The megaspore that remains divides nuclei that later merge to make a diploid nucleus.
