Reproduction in Plants – Detailed Explanation

Key Concepts

• Sexual Reproduction
• Vegetative Propagation
• Pollination
• Fertilization
• Seed Dispersal

Introduction

The majority of flowering plants reproduce through sexual reproduction.  

Flowers produce both male and female gametes, making them the reproductive portion of the plant.  

Flowers are used by plants to reproduce sexually.  

A flower has:

• Vegetative parts
• Reproductive parts 

Vegetative Parts

Petals: Bees, insects, and birds are drawn to this brightly colored part of the flower called petals.  

Petals vary in color from plant to plant, with some being bright and others being faint.  

As a result, petals assist us in distinguishing between flowers. 

Sepals: The green-colored component beneath the petals that protects the developing buds is known as a sepal.  

The petals and sepals of certain flowers are united, while the petals and sepals of others are separated. 

Peduncle/pedicel is the stalk of the flower. 

The section of a flower stalk to which the flower’s parts are attached is called the receptacle. 

Reproductive Parts   

Stamen (also known as androecium) is the male reproductive organ. Anther and filaments are the two elements of it. 

The pollen is produced and stored by the anther, which is a yellowish sac-like structure. 

The filament is a thin, threadlike structure that supports the anther. 

The female reproductive organ (known as gynoecium) of a flower is the pistil, which is made up of three parts: stigma, style, and ovary. The pistil is the term for all of this. 

In the gynoecium of a flower, the stigma is the highest component or receptive point of carpels. 

The stigma is connected to the ovary by a long tube-like thin stalk. 

The ductless reproductive gland that contains many ovules is known as the ovary. The formation of seeds takes place here. 

Stamen, pistil, or both may be found in a flower. A flower might be unisexual or bisexual as a result of this.  

Bisexual flowers, such as roses and China roses, are made up of all four elements listed above. 

Plants such as papaya and cucumber, on the other hand, produce unisexual blooms. 

Explanation 

Pollination and fertilization are two important aspects of plant reproduction.

Pollination

Pollination is the process of transporting pollen grains from a flower’s male anther to its female stigma. 

Flowers rely on vectors to transport pollen. Wind, water, birds, insects, butterflies, bats, and other animals that visit flowers can all be vectors. 

Pollinators are animals or insects that transport pollen from one plant to another. 

When pollen grains attach themselves to the animal’s body, the pollinator is frequently ingesting or gathering pollen for its protein and other nutritional properties, or it is sipping nectar from the flower. 

Pollen can fall off onto the stigma of another flower when the animal visits it for the same reason, resulting in successful flower reproduction. 

Pollination that occurs between the anther and stigma of the same flower is known as self-pollination. 

Pollen transfer between the anther and the stigma of different blooms of the same plant or distinct plants of the same species is known as cross-pollination. 

Fertilization

Male gametes from pollen grains release and combine with the egg in the ovule to generate a zygote once pollen is transported to the stigma.  

Fertilization is the process of fusion of gametes.  

The resulting zygote divides and grows into an embryo, then into a seed. The fruit grows from the ovary. 

If a plant’s seeds fall in the same location, they will compete for sunlight, water, minerals, and space and will not mature into healthy plants. 

Seed dispersal is important to plants. 

Seed dispersal

Wind, water, and animals transport plant seeds and fruit. 

When the fruits burst with sharp jerks, some seeds are dispersed from the parent plant. 

 Wind carries winged seeds such as drumstick and maple light grass seeds, hairy seeds of aak (Madar), and hairy fruit of sunflower to faraway areas.  

Water helps spread some seeds, like in the case of coconut, these fruits or seeds grow a spongy or fibrous outer shell, which allows them to float. 

Animals disseminate some seeds, particularly prickly seeds with hooks that cling to animals’ bodies and are transferred to remote locations. Xanthium and urena are both examples of dispersal by animals. 

Summary

• Seeds are produced by sexual reproduction and include a young embryo capable of
  developing into a new plant.
• Plants can produce new plants without seeds in asexual reproduction through roots,
  stems, leaves, and buds. As all of these are vegetative parts, the asexual mode of
  reproduction is called vegetative reproduction.
• Petals: Bees, insects, and birds are drawn to this brightly colored part of the flower called
  petals.
• Sepals: The green-colored component beneath the petals that protects the developing
  buds is known as a sepal.
• Stamen (also known as androecium) is the male reproductive organ, Anther and
  filaments are the two elements of it.
• The female reproductive organ (known as gynoecium) of a flower is the pistil, which is
  made up of three parts: stigma, style, and ovary. The pistil is the term for all of this.
• A flower might be unisexual or bisexual.
• Pollination is the process of transporting pollen grains from a flower’s male anther to its
  female stigma.
• Pollination that occurs between the anther and stigma of the same flower is known as
  self-pollination.
• Pollen transfer between the anther and the stigma of different blooms of the same plant
  or distinct plants of the same species is known as cross-pollination.
• Fertilization is the process of fusion of gametes.
• Seed dispersal: Wind, water, and animals transport plant seeds and fruit.