Gracilariopsis Tetrasporophyte

Gracilariopsis lemaeniformis has an alternation of isomorphic generations, meaning that the tetrasporophytes and the gametophytes are identical. The tetraspores are found in the cortex (the cell layers nearest the edge of the plant).

The large red cell in this picture is a tetrasporangium. Tetrasporangia are the sites of meiosis and thus the diploid tetrasporophyte produces four haploid tetraspores in each tetrasporangia. Tetrasporangia in the genus Gracilariopis are cruciately divided, meaning that the walls dividing the tetraspores are cross-shaped when viewed from the right angle.

The tetrasporophyte develops from a single carpospore