In the reproductive cycle of whisk ferns, a dominant sporophyte plant (1), bearing trilobed sporangia (2), produces homosporous spores (3) which germinate into haploid gametophytes (4). The underground gametophyte forms mycorrhizal associations with fungi for nutrition and develops archegonia (5), each with 1 egg, and antheridia (6) with flagellated sperm. After fertilization a diploid zygote (7) forms and eventually develops into a sporophyte plant (8). Asexual reproduction can take place by means of gemmae. While gemmae are means of asexual reproduction in non-vascular plants such as the liverworts, the difference is that in the non-vascular plants the gemmae develop on the gametophyte while in Psilotum the gemmae develop on the sporophyte.