Summary
The sporophyte develops its specialized female reproductive structures well before meiosis can take place: the female strobilus and its megasporophylls develop integumented ovules (or megasporangia). Within each ovule's nucellar tissue forms sporogenous cells which give rise to a megaspore mother cell (MMC). The megaspore mother cell undergoes meiosis and the product of female meiosis is the linear tetrad of four megaspores. Only the megaspore closest to the chalazal end survives. The surviving megaspore divides to become a multicellular, translucent female gametophyte. Multiple egg cells, each housed in its own archegonium, will form from the female gametophyte. This haploid female gametophyte in conifers is not a synonym for an endosperm. Both gymnosperms and angiosperms have a haploid female gametophyte but only angiosperms form a triploid endosperm from multiple fertilizations. While all modern conifers follow this basic plan for female gametogenesis, the range of variation among taxa is surprising.
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(2009). The Female Gametophyte Inside the Ovule. In: Conifer Reproductive Biology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9602-0_4
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