A Major Change That Occurred During the Evolution of Plants

A major change that occurred during the evolution of plants from their algal ancestors was the origin of a branched sporophyte. What advantage would branched sporophytes provide in this stage of the life cycle?

A) increased gamete production
B) increased spore production
C) increased potential for independence of the diploid stage from the haploid stage
D) increased fertilization rate
E) increased size of the diploid stage