The life cycle of a fern starts in the spores produced by

sporangia which is found in at the bottom of the fern

frond. The spores have half number chromosomes of its
parent plant these are produced through meiosis. Through
different factors such as wind, these spores are seperated
from the sporangia and will grow to somewhere on the ground
as a gametophyte calle prothalus which is a seperate individual plant.
In the gametophyte it produces gametes in its male sex organ
Antheridium and female sex organ Archegonium. Since
prothallus have both male and sex organ, It can exhibit
fertilization where the sperm from antheridium swims toget
to the egg or both of them come together. In fertilization
their half number chromosomes combines which
springs to new-born fern plant. The young fern plant
develops in the prothallus. This cycles repeats