Editing Spore (section)

==Definition==
The term ''spore'' derives from the [[ancient Greek]] word σπορά ''spora'', meaning "[[seed]], sowing", related to σπόρος ''{{lang|grc-Latn|sporos}}'', "sowing", and σπείρειν ''{{lang|grc-Latn|speirein}}'', "to sow".

In common parlance, the difference between a "spore" and a "[[gamete]]" is that a spore will germinate and develop into a [[sporeling]], while a gamete needs to combine with another gamete to form a zygote before developing further.

The main difference between spores and seeds as [[Biological dispersal|dispersal units]] is that spores are unicellular, the first cell of a gametophyte, while seeds contain within them a developing embryo (the multicellular sporophyte of the next generation), produced by the fusion of the male gamete of the pollen tube with the female gamete formed by the megagametophyte within the ovule. Spores germinate to give rise to haploid gametophytes, while seeds germinate to give rise to diploid sporophytes.