The immediate product of meiosis in flowering plants is the

Analyze the question: It asks what meiosis produces immediately in flowering plants (angiosperms). This is about the alternation of generations.

Explain the concept: Flowering plants alternate between two generations:

• Sporophyte (2n, diploid): the main plant we see.
• Gametophyte (n, haploid): a tiny structure, such as the pollen grain (male) and the embryo sac (female).

In plants, meiosis does not produce gametes directly (unlike in animals). It produces spores, which are haploid.

Step-by-step solution:

1. In the anther, a diploid microspore mother cell undergoes meiosis and forms haploid microspores. These develop into pollen grains (the male gametophyte).
2. In the ovule, a diploid megaspore mother cell undergoes meiosis and forms haploid megaspores. One survives and develops into the embryo sac (the female gametophyte).
3. The gametophytes then produce gametes by mitosis.
4. Fertilization produces the diploid zygote, which grows into the new sporophyte.

Checking the options:

• A. Sporophyte: diploid, and it develops from the zygote through mitosis. ✗
• B. Gametophyte: haploid. It develops from the spores that meiosis produces. ✓ (the best available answer)
• C. Zygote: formed by fertilization, not meiosis. ✗
• D. Endosperm: formed after double fertilization, and it is triploid. ✗

A note on precision: Strictly speaking, the immediate product of meiosis is the haploid spore (microspore or megaspore). Spores are not listed, so the gametophyte, which is the haploid generation that develops from the spores, is the best choice.

Answer: B. gametophyte

Exam tip: Remember "Plants: meiosis makes SPORES, mitosis makes GAMETES." Meiosis leads to the haploid generation (gametophyte), and fertilization leads back to the diploid generation (sporophyte). If a question lists "spore," pick it. If not, choose the gametophyte.