VISHWASHANTI GURUKUL

An IB World School

Academic Year 2024-25

Grade: MYP 3 Unit: Space and Life
Key concept: System
Related concept(s): Function and transformation
Global context: personal and cultural expression
Topic: Sexual reproduction in plants

Structure of a flower:

Source: S-Cool.Co.Uk, 2019, https://www.s-cool.co.uk/gifs/a-bio-reproduction-dia02.gif. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.

● Flower is a highly specialized shoot and is modified and ceased to grow to house
the reproductive structures.
● They are usually bright coloured to attract insects for pollination.
● Flowers that are not colourful are pollinated by wind.
● All flowers have the basic plan having four main parts: sepals, petals, stamens
and carpels.
● They are usually both male and female.
● The stamen is the male part of the plant and carpel is the female part of the
plant.
Parts of a Flower:
Peduncle: Peduncle is the stalk of a flower.
Receptacle:
● Receptacle is the stem portion; it is found at the base in the centre of the
flower.
● The internodes are short, and the number of leaves is small.
● Hence, receptacle is not usually a large part of the flower.
Sepals:
● Sepals form the outermost whorl of the floral structure.
● They are mostly but not always green and are leaf-like in appearance.
● Sepals are similar to the foliage leaves of the plant.
● Sepals are collectively known as the Calyx.
● The major function of the calyx is the protection of flower parts during early
development of the flower or the bud.
Petals:
● Petals are present above the sepal’s whorl.
● Petals are larger than the sepals, they are brightly coloured, leaf-like, broad
and are thin organs.
● The petals collectively are known as the Corolla.
● Corolla is the attractive part of the flower. They provide additional protection
and attract insects to facilitate pollination of the flower.
Carpels:
● Carpels are one or more in number and are located in the upper centre of the
flower. Collectively the carpels are known as gynoecium.
● Carpels are made of three parts: Ovary, Style and Stigma.
● Ovary is the structure present at the base of the carpel. It is an enlarged narrow
region bearing one or more ovules.
● Style is the slender, neck-like portion of the carpel the leads to the ovary.
● Stigma is of variety of shapes and sizes. It is present at the tip of the carpel and
is sticky to collect pollen grains.
Stamens:
● Stamens are the male part of the flower and produces pollen.
● A stamen consists of a filament and an anther.
● Stamens are collectively called androecium.
● Anther is the sac located at the tip of the filament that contains pollen.
● Filament is the stalk that connects to and holds up the anther.
Gynoecium:
● Gynoecium is the collective term used for carpels in a flower.
● Gynoecium consists of single carpel or multiple unfused carpels or multiple
fused carpels.
● Typically, each carpel contains one or more ovules. Post fertilization, ovule
develops into seeds and the gynoecium forms the pericarp of the fruit.
Pollination:
● Pollination is the transfer of pollen from a male part of a plant (anther) to a
female part of a plant (stigma), enabling fertilization and the production of
seeds.
● Common pollinating agents are animals such as insects, birds, and bats, water,
wind.
Types of pollination:
1. Self-pollination:
● When the pollen lands on the stigma of the same flower, it is called self-
pollination. It is further divided into two types: a. Autogamy b. Geitonogamy
● In autogamy, pollen is transferred from the anther to the stigma of the same
flower whereas in geitonogamy, pollen is transferred from the anther of one
flower to the stigma of another flower on the same flowering plant.
Disadvantages of self-pollination:
● Since there is no mixing up of genes, there are no variation in genetic
constitution of the plant.
● Without new characters introduced, the resultant offspring’s’ immunity to
diseases reduces, hence more chances of getting diseased.
Advantages of self-pollination:
● There is no diversity in the genes and therefore the purity of the race is
maintained.
● The plants do not depend on external factors for pollination and even smaller
quantities of pollen grains produced have a good success rate in getting
pollinated. Very less wastage of pollen grains occurs.
2. Cross pollination:
● When the pollen of a flower lands on the stigma of another flower of the same
plant, or that of a different plant, it is called cross pollination, or allogamy.
Disadvantages of cross pollination:
● It is not always certain as a pollinating agent is always required, and it may or
may not be available at suitable time.
● Pollen grains have to be produced in abundance to ensure chances of
pollination. This results in lot of wastage of pollen.
Advantages of cross pollination:
● The advantage of cross pollination is that it produces plants with genetic
variation, which can help in their survival by lessening the chance of many
diseases.

Fertilization:

● Fertilization is the fusion of male and female gametes to form a zygote.

● Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ycl2E9r-_o
Structure of a pollen grain:

Source: Images.Slideplayer.Com, 2019, https://images.slideplayer.com/27/9158586/slides/slide_2.jpg. Accessed 9 Dec

2019.
● Pollen grains represent the male portion of the reproductive process in plants
and trees. These tiny bodies are swirling in the air and on the legs of insects so
that they can join the female part of the plant to create a new seed.
● Pollen grains are microscopic structures that vary in size and shape.
● Each pollen has 2 coats: Exine – This is the tough outer coating with rough
surface which helps for entry in style to carry out fertilization.
Intine – It is a thin delicate cellulose layer lying internal to exine. It helps in
developing pollen tube.
● Inside the intine - The tube cell, which will eventually become the pollen tube,
and a generative cell, which contains the male sperm nuclei needed for
fertilization.
Structure of ovule:
 Source: Images.Slideplayer.Com, 2019, https://images.slideplayer.com/27/9158586/slides/slide_2.jpg. Accessed 9 Dec
2019.

● Integuments: Two layers of protective covering.

● Micropyle: Minute pore or opening through which the pollen tube enters.
● Nucellus: Nutritive tissue lining the interior of the ovule.
● Embryo sac: In the centre of nucellus, it contains the egg cell, antipodal cells
and polar nuclei. Synergids are the cells flanking the egg cell.

Process of fertilization:

● The gametes that participate in fertilisation of plants are the pollen (male), and
the egg (female) cell.
 ● In pollination the pollen grains which are liberated by anthers stick to the
stigmas and form a pollen tube.
● The pollen tube carries two male nuclei.
● The pollen grain remains over the surface of the stigma while the pollen tube
travels through the style and reaches to the ovule present in the ovary.
● Then the pollen tube enters the ovule where one male nucleus combines with
the primary nucleus of the ovule to form zygote.
● The second male nucleus fuses with the two polar nuclei present in the embryo
sac to form an endosperm.

Source: S3-Us-West-2.Amazonaws.Com, 2019, https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/courses-images/wp-content/uploads/sites/

1842/2017/05/26233900/figure-32-02-07.jpeg. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
Double fertilization:

● In flowering plants, 2 sets of fertilization take place.

● One occurs between male gamete and egg cell that forms zygote.
● Another takes place between the second male gamete and the polar nuclei to
form an endosperm.
● Also, sometimes for some reason, the egg cell fails to fertilize, the synergids
assume the role of egg cell and then fertilization takes place. If the condition is
normal, then the synergid cells disintegrate.

Process after fertilization (Post fertilization):

● After fertilization, the egg cell surrounds itself with a cell wall and is known as
the Oospore.
● The ovary enlarges to form the fruit and the ovarian wall forms the fruit wall.
The ovules become the seed.
● A fruit may contain one or more seeds.
● When the fruit is ripe, the seed present within the fruit is released by one of the
methods of seed dispersal and grows into a new plant under suitable conditions.

Seed and its structure:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWRWZkcIs4U
 Source: S3-Us-West-2.Amazonaws.Com, 2019, https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/courses-images/wp-content/uploads/sites/
1842/2017/05/26233900/figure-32-02-07.jpeg. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.

● A seed is a mature ovule.

● After fertilization, zygote gives rise to embryo. The embryo is enclosed within a
protective layer called integument and it consists of plumule, radicle and
embryonic axis, to which cotyledons are attached.
● Testa - A tough, hard, outer coat, the testa protects the seed from fungi,
bacteria and insects. It has to be split open by the radicle before germination
can proceed.
● Hilum - The hilum is a scar left by the stalk which attached the ovule to the
ovary wall.
● Micropyle - The micropyle is a tiny pore in the testa opposite the tip of the
radicle. It admits water to the embryo before active germination.
● Radicle - The radicle is the embryonic root which grows and develops into the
root system of the plant.
● Plumule -The plumule is the embryonic shoot. In it two or more leaves are
usually visible, with a growing point enclosed between them.
● Cotyledons - The grasses and narrow-leaved plants have seeds with only one
cotyledon. The other flowering plants all have two cotyledons. They are leaves
attached to the plumule and radicle by short stalks, and they often contain food
reserves which are used during the early stages of germination.

Germination:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE6xptjgNR0

● The process by which a seed grows into a new plant is called germination.

1. When the seed gets all the necessary things like air, water, warmth, space and
nutrients from the soil the process of germination starts.
2. During the early stages the seeds will get food from the cotyledons.
 3. The seed coat will break, and a new plant will emerge out of the seed.
4. When the plant will develop a root system it will absorb water and nutrients
from the soil.
5. The shoot system of the plant will develop and now the leaves will start
preparing food for the plant therefore the cotyledons will shrink and disappear.

Seed Dispersal:

The process by which seed are scattered away from the mother plant is called
dispersal. The different ways by which the seeds can by dispersed are –

1. By wind – The seeds that are light in weight have wing like structure or hair like
structure can be easily carried away by the wind from one place to another. For
e.g. – cotton seed.
2. By water – Seeds that have a fibrous covering that can bloat on water can be
dispersed by this method. For e.g. coconut and lotus.
3. By animals – seeds that have hooks or spines can stick on the body of the
animals and so can be carried away from one place to another by the animals.
For e.g. – cocklebur.
4. By explosion – Fruits of some of the plants burst open when they are ripe and
scatter the seed in all directions. For e.g. – poppy, pea and beans.

Factors Affecting Germination Process of Seeds:

● Temperature: Extremely low or cold temperature is not favourable for seed

germination. They prefer higher temperatures. The germination rate of seed is
directly proportional to the rise in temperature.
● Moisture or water: Dry seeds do not germinate. Water is an essential factor to
trigger off the process of seed germination.
● Soil: During growth, seeds require mineral elements for further growth which is
obtained from the soil.
● Light: For seed germination light is not essential in the early stages of
germination but plays a main role in the later stages of the life cycle of plants.
● Viability of the seeds: After the seeds are formed, they remain viable up to
certain period which may vary from plant to plant or seed to seed. Many seeds
die or are incapable of supporting growth after a certain period of time.
● Dormancy period: Many seeds do not germinate abruptly after they are
produced. Certain seeds undergo a resting time through which they stay
dormant and germinate when conditions are favourable.
● Thinness or thickness of seed coat: Different seeds have varying degrees of
thickness to enable the seeds to remain feasible. Seeds with a thin seed coat
tend to germinate faster than those with thicker seed coats.

Bibliography:
● "Flower: Parts of a Flower, Importance, Example, Solved Questions." Toppr-
guides. N.p., 25 Sept. 2018. Web. 09 Dec. 2019.
● "KS3 Biology - Plant Reproduction - Revision 1." BBC Bitesize. BBC, n.d. Web. 09
Dec. 2019.
● "Sexual Reproduction In Flowering Plants | S-Cool, The Revision Website". S-
Cool.Co. Uk, 2019, https://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/biology/reproduction/revise-
it/sexual-reproduction-in-flowering-plants. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
● "Plant Reproductive System". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019,
https://www.britannica.com/science/plant-reproductive-system. Accessed 9 Dec
2019.