A significant portion of my sophomore year was spent learning about the plant life cycle. In particular, we studied the incredible cycle that is the Alternation of Generations. Where multicellular plants and their gametes cycle between a haploid “n” state and a diploid “2n” state. This fluctuation between haploid and diploid stages often occurs in plants and is called the alternation of generations.
Throughout the entire course, the textbook always referred to drawings of ferns. I stared at the pictures in confusion wondering if I had ever seen a plant that looked anything like a fern. I could not recall. In fact, the fern was consistently used as an example since supposedly, they are super common and everyone (except me?) knows what a fern is.
Finally, 20 years later, I have recognized my first fern in real life. Wow, writing this post made me realize how much I miss biology.
