Embryophyte

An embryophyte is a land plant in the clade Embryophyta. Its defining feature is a multicellular embryo retained and nourished by the parent plant.

Alternation of generations: A life cycle alternating between multicellular haploid and diploid stages. Embryophytes alternate gametophyte and sporophyte generations, with a diploid embryo developing on the parent.
Archegonium: A multicellular female reproductive organ that produces an egg in many plants. In many embryophytes, fertilization occurs inside this organ, where the embryo begins developing.
Streptophyta: A lineage of green plants that includes land plants and several groups of green algae. Embryophytes arose within this broader green-plant lineage.
Chlorophyta: A major lineage of green algae distinct from the streptophyte lineage that includes land plants. Its members are green algae, not embryophytes, despite sharing photosynthetic pigments.
Sporophyte: The diploid, spore-producing phase in the life cycle of plants and some algae. The embryo grows into the sporophyte, whose form dominates many land-plant lineages.
Antheridium: A male reproductive organ that produces sperm in many plants and algae. Motile sperm from antheridia fertilize eggs in water-dependent plant lineages.
Charophyte: A member of a group of green algae closely related to land plants. Charophyte relatives share traits that illuminate the algal ancestry of embryophytes.
Marchantiophyta: The plant division comprising liverworts, small nonvascular land plants. Liverworts represent an early-diverging living branch of embryophytes.
Gametophyte: The haploid, gamete-producing phase in the life cycle of plants and some algae. This generation produces the gametes that unite to form an embryophyte embryo.
Pollen: A structure containing the male gametophyte of seed plants. Pollen carries sperm-producing cells without requiring free water for fertilization.

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