Plant reproductive morphology be identical isospores or come in different sizes (microspores and megaspores), but strictly speaking, spores and sporophytes are neither male nor female because they do not produce gametes. The alternate generation, the gametophyte, produces gametes, eggs and/or sperm. A gametophyte can be monoicous (bisexual), producing both eggs and sperm or dioicous (unisexual), either female (producing eggs) or male (producing sperm). In the bryophytes (liverworts, mosses and hornworts), the sexual gametophyte is the dominant generation. In ferns and seed plants (including cycads, conifers, flowering plants, etc.) the sporophyte is the dominant generation. The obvious visible plant, whether a small herb or
Tasmanian ferns cool temperate rainforests, two species that are most commone are Hymenophyllum flabellatum, and Hymenophyllum rarum. Filmy ferns are epiphytic ferns that creep along rhizomes at the base of tree ferns and tree trunks. The fern is very thin with leaves only one cell thick. Given the delicate nature of these ferns they are prone to desiccation. They are therefore their distribution is limited to very humid moist habitats such as cool temperate rainforests. Slight changes in the ecology of Tasmania’s cool temperate rainforests could have a huge negative effect on filmy fern populations. "Dicksonia antarctica" is possibly one of the