Life cycle of an angiosperm (flowering plant). A plant alternates between a multicellular diploid (2n) sporophyte and a multicellular haploid (n) gametophyte generation. <Li> A mature plant is a multicellular diploid sporophyte with reproductive structures. <Li> Anthers contain microsporangia in which germ cells divide by meiosis to produce microspores. <Li> Ovaries contain megasporangia in which germ cells divide by meiosis to yield 4 megaspores each. <Li> Microspores divide by mitosis to form multicellular male gametophytes (pollen grains), which contain sperm cells. <Li> One of the 4 megaspores divides by mitosis to form a multicellular female gametophyte (embryo sac), which contains an egg cell in an ovule. <Li> Fertilization (pollination) occurs when a sperm fuses with an egg, producing a diploid single-celled zygote. <Li> The zygote develops by mitosis to produce the sporophyte.