Maria wanted to grow a fern in her backyard. acting on a suggestion from a friend, she collected brown dots from the underside of a fern’s leaves and then potted them. after a few days, maria saw small fern leaves erupting from the pot. which statement explains this phenomenon?

The little dots collected from under the fern leaves are spores, not seeds. Ferns are different from seed-bearing plants in that ferns in a sexless way through sporophyte generation. Spores dropped from or taken from grown fern leaves have developed prothallium. Each prothallium generates male and female organs in what is called the gametophyte stage. When fertilization of the female gametophyte happens, small fern plants or leaflets start to grow.