Q.Which is the dominant phase in Pteridophytes?

In Pteridophytes, the life cycle shows heteromorphic alternation of generations. The sporophyte is diploid (2n), autotrophic, independent, and is the phase differentiated into true root, stem and leaves — it is what we recognise as 'the fern plant'. The gametophyte, by contrast, is a separate, small, short-lived, haploid structure that exists independently of the sporophyte for only a brief part of the cycle. Since the sporophyte is the larger, longer-lived, structurally complex phase, it is the dominant phase.

Recall which generation — diploid or haploid — is described as the large, independent, root-stem-leaf-bearing plant body in Pteridophytes.

• Confusing Pteridophytes with Bryophytes, where the gametophyte (not the sporophyte) is dominant.
• Picking 'Gametophyte' because ferns are Cryptogams, forgetting that dominance and seed-production are separate criteria.