The archegoniophore is the reproductive branch bearing archegonia which is also known as the carpocephalum. The archegoniophore is differentiated into two parts the stalk and the disc. The archegoniophore consist of stalk which is very short during its younger stage and the disc consists of eight lobes which are directed away from the center. On the upper surface of the disc the archegonia is formed in acropetal succession in eight rows. Each row bears 12-18 archegonia where the young archegonia are found near the growing points and the oldest towards the centre of the disc. Then the fertilization occurs after that the stalk begins to elongate and the central part of the disc bulges out so that it pushes the archegonia towards the periphery. The archegonia now appear in an inverted and hang down form. Each archegonium is enclosed within an external sheath known as perigynium. After fertilization the zygote develops later into sporogonium.
