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
The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland highly suited to the process, were impressed upon soft lead plates. These were electroplated to become the printing plate, the details of the fronds and stem were hand-coloured at this stage. The resulting image was in two colours and provided a highly detailed and realistic depiction of the species. The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland was a book published in 1855 that featured 51 plates of nature printing by Henry Bradbury. The text was a scientific description of all the varieties of Ferns found in the British Isles. The author of this