ANGIOSPERMS 235 
140. The gametophytes.—The gametophytes of Angio- 
sperms are even more reduced than those of Gymnosperms 
(§ 124). In order to see them, special preparations for the 
microscope are necessary, but with the help of illustrations 
some idea of them may be obtained. By the pollen grain 
(microspore) three cells are formed, and two of them are 
male cells or sperms; these three cells represent the male 
gametophyte (Fig. 225). 
Within the large spore 
(megaspore), which is 
retained in the ovule, 
seven cells usually ap- 
pear; and one of these 
is an egg, no archego- 
Fic. 225.—Pollen grain containing Fic. 226.—The female gametophyte of a lily 
a three-celled male gameto- before fertilization, within the old mega- 
phyte; one cell represented by spore wall eight cells or their nuclei appear- 
its nucleus, the two other cells ing, one of which is an egg (e); the pollen 
being male cells. tube enters through the micropyle (m). 
nium to contain it being formed. These seven cells repre- 
sent the female gametophyte before fertilization (Fig. 226). 
The sperms produced by the pollen must reach the egg 
within the ovule. The stamens that produce the pollen 
may be in the same flower as the pistil that contains the 
ovules with their eggs, or they may be in another flower 
on the same plant, or they may be borne by an entirely 
different plant. In any event, the first thing done is to 
transfer the pollen to the pistil. This transfer, that is, 
