| The host cell wall remains closely attached, forming an outer layer to the resistant, thick-walled winter sporangium. |
| The dark red granules of the sporangium walls are abundant and appear to form a continuous crust. |
| The manner in which the spores originate in the sporangium calls for comment. |
| The sporangium ruptures and releases spores, which germinate, ultimately into the gametophyte. |
| The cysts, then, belong morphologically to the peridium or sporangium wall. |
| The number of spores produced per sporangium ranges from 16 or 32 in some pteridophytes to more than 65 million in some mosses. |
