Apomixis can be divided in two main types, gametophytic and sporophytic. The two types depend on the fate of the unreduced cells. If the unreduced cells give rise to a megagametophyte, then gametophytic apomixis occurs. If the unreduced cells give rise directly to an embryo, then sporophytic apomixis occurs. The distinction between the two main types of apomixis is thus based on the site of origin and the subsequent developmental pattern of the cell which gives rise to the embryo. The important factor that distinguishes the sexual pathway from the apomictic pathway is the reductional division, or meiosis, of the unreduced somatic cells.