Which is the dominant part of the fern life cycle,the gametophyte or the saprophyte?

Like most plants, the fern's dominant life cycle is the sporophyte.



(An easy way to determine this is look at the underside of the of the fern leaf, known as the frond. From time to time, you will find small spots, that are usually brown or black in color. These are called sori. The sori contain spores, which are released during the sporophyte stage, to produce identical fern offspring.)

Which is the dominant part of the fern life cycle,the gametophyte or the saprophyte?
The sporophyte is the dominant life cycle for Polypodiophyta, or the phylum which consists of ferns. This can be verified by 2 facts:



1) The ferns' sporophyte stage is rather obvious as their leaves are huge (some extending to 2 meters long) and conspicuous. The gametophyte stage is rather short, not to mention the size of the plant when in the gametophyte stage. They are only as large as your finger tips.



2) Ferns are known as perennials which means they grow throughout the year. How often do you see a small gametophyte?I am pretty sure you have seen the fronds of the ferns more than the tiny gametophytes.