ABSTRACT
Broken symmetry is associated with the first unequal division in an apical cell lineage. Where the cell plate forms determines handedness during this division while later divisions retain this asymmetry and may generate cycles of three and four merophytic clones. An apical cell is determined by the presence of a proposed cytoplasmic particle (CP), and its position determines the location of a cell plate. This cell lineage in cryptogams is the equivalent of meristems in phanerogams. While broken symmetry occurs in the first unequal division of an apical cell lineage, handedness occurs at all divisions of the lineage. Apical cells and their derivatives produce the bulk of cells in gametophytes and sporophytes.
