Q.Name the parts of an angiosperm flower in which development of male and female gametophyte take place.
In angiosperms, the male gametophyte (pollen grain) develops inside the anther of the stamen, while the female gametophyte (embryo sac) develops inside the ovule located within the ovary of the pistil.
To understand where these gametophytes form, you first need a clear picture of the flower itself. A typical angiosperm flower has four whorls: the calyx (sepals), corolla (petals), androecium (stamens, the male reproductive organs), and gynoecium (pistil/carpel, the female reproductive organs). The development of the male and female gametophytes is confined to the last two whorls.
The male gametophyte — which is the multicellular, haploid pollen grain — begins its life in the anther. The anther is the swollen, usually bilobed structure at the tip of the stamen. Inside each lobe of a young anther, there are four microsporangia (pollen sacs). Within these microsporangia, the cells that will become pollen (microspore mother cells) undergo meiosis to produce haploid microspores. Each microspore then divides mitotically to form a two-celled pollen grain — the immature male gametophyte. So the anther is the precise site where the entire journey from microspore mother cell to mature pollen grain takes place.
The female gametophyte — also called the embryo sac — develops inside the ovule. The ovule itself is a small, stalked structure found inside the ovary (the swollen basal part of the pistil). Within the ovule, a single cell called the megaspore mother cell (located in the nucellus) undergoes meiosis to produce four haploid megaspores. Usually, three of these degenerate, and the functional megaspore enlarges. Its nucleus then undergoes three successive mitotic divisions, resulting in an eight-nucleate, seven-celled embryo sac — the mature female gametophyte. So the ovule, housed within the ovary, is the exclusive site for female gametophyte development.
The ovary is the part of the pistil that later becomes the fruit, and the ovule becomes the seed. But at the stage we are discussing — gametophyte formation — the ovule is still a tiny, immature structure inside the ovary.
A common confusion is to say the female gametophyte develops in the "ovary." That is not precise enough. The ovary is the chamber; the actual development happens inside the ovule, which is attached to the ovary wall by a stalk (the funicle). Always specify "ovule" for the female gametophyte.
In short, the male gametophyte develops in the anther (specifically within its microsporangia), and the female gametophyte develops in the ovule (which is located inside the ovary of the pistil).
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