Reproduction in flowering plants takes place through several stages including seed formation, germination, growth of the seed, reproduction, pollination, and spreading of the seed after fertilization. The plants that die just after flowering include monocarpic flowers where the flower set seeds and falls off. Sexual reproduction can be seen in angiosperm only. Non-flowering plants like gymnosperms do not undergo sexual reproduction as they lack reproductive organs. In sexual reproduction, DNA is collected from both the parent and in asexual reproduction DNA is collected from only one parent.
Angiosperms are mainly determined by the flowering plants that have both female and male productive structures in the flower. The flowers of the plants consist of various parts that help in the reproduction process like the peduncle, which is the flower stalk, the petals of the flowers, and the sepal that is the outermost part of the flowers. The important parts include stamens that are the parts of the flower where pollen is produced and anther, which are the parts of stamens.
Figure 1: Parts of a Flower
Other parts include the pistil, the part from where the ovule is produced and the stigma, the pistil part where pollen germination takes place. The enlarged basal portion of pistil is determined as the ovary of the flower where production of the ovule takes place and helps in the reproduction process.
There are about 300,000 species with the largest diversified groups being flowering plants within the Plantae kingdom. In the Plantae kingdom, the angiosperm mainly represents about 80% of all known species of green plants still present on Earth. In plants, reproduction takes place through both sexual and asexual modes of reproduction.
Figure 2: Sexual Reproduction of Flowering Plants
Reproduction in flowering plants mainly takes place through the pollination process. The transfer of pollen grains from the male flower’s anther to the female flower’s stigma enables the process of fertilization that gradually results in the formation of seeds.
The flowering plants show both sexual and asexual modes of reproduction as mentioned below.
In asexual reproduction, the DNA or genetic material from only one plant is involved in the case of flowering plants. Offspring are generated that are genetically identical to their parent and are often denoted as clones. Genetic diversity is absent in clones which makes the plants more prone to disease and less adaptable to environmental changes.
Figure 3: Pollination in Flowering Plants
In the case of sexual reproduction, involvement of genetic material like a sequence of DNA can be seen. The mother plants consist of both female and male sex cells that are determined as gametes. Offspring are generally produced through the fusion of these male and female gametes of the flowering plants. The fusion of gametes is denoted as the process of fertilization. Through the common pollination process, the flowering plants reproduce sexually. In this process, the pollen grains transfer from the male flower’s anther to the female flower’s stigma thereby enabling fertilization.
Q1. Which is the plant that dies after flowering?
A. Monocarpic flowers
B. Gregarious flower
C. Gymnosperms
D. None of the above
Answer: (A) Monocarpic flowers
Q2. Flowering plants mainly show which mode of reproduction?
A. Sexual reproduction
B. Pollination
C. Asexual reproduction
D. All of the above
Answer: (D) All of the above
Q3. ___________ is collected from two parents in case of sexual reproduction in plants.
A. DNA
B. Pollen grains
C. Ribosomes
D. Pistils
Answer: (A) DNA
Q4. What is the process through which the pollen grains are transferred from the male flower’s anther to the female flower’s stigma?
A. Diffusion
B. Pollination
C. Fertilization
D. Adoption
Answer: (B) Pollination
Q5. Fusion of male and female reproductive nucleus is determined as _______________.
A. Adoption
B. Regeneration
C. Excretion
D. Fertilization
Answer: (D) Fertilization
Q6. Where the embryo sac is located?
A. Ovule
B. Style
C. Stigma
D. Micropyle
Answer: (A) Ovule
Q7. What is the stalk base of the Datura flower denoted as?
A. Thalamus
B. Sepals
C. Pedicel
D. Corolla
Answer: (C) Pedicel
Q8. What is the other name for gynoecium?
A. Androecium
B. Pistil
C. Style
D. Stigma
Answer: (B) Pistil
Q9. In the flowering plants, the functional megaspore gradually develops into ___________.
A. Embryo-sac
B. Endosperm
C. Embryo
D. Ovule
Answer: (A) Embryo-sac
Q10. What is the key significance of filiform apparatus?
A. Protecting the pollen tube entrance
B. Producing nectar
C. Recognition of pollen at the stigma
D. Generative cell division
Answer: (A) Protecting the pollen tube entrance
The reproduction process of flowering plants uses both sexual and asexual modes of reproduction. The significance of reproduction in flowering plants is to generate a new species through the genetic material or DNA of the mother plant. Pollination is the common sexual process through which plants reproduce. The pollination process can be further divided into cross and self-pollination. After the stage of pollination, fertilization takes place that ultimately transforms the ovule into a seed to gradually develop into a flower or a fruit.
Q1. What is gregarious flowering?
Ans. The most attractive flowering pattern that can be seen in bamboo plants is referred to as gregarious flowering. In a specific species of bamboo, all flowers bloom together which is determined as gregarious flowering species. This generally takes place at an interval of 60-130 years.
Q2. Which plants show natural death after flowering?
Ans. Death occurs just after flowering in plants like monocarpic flowering plants. Alphonse De Candolle introduced the term monocarpic flower.
Q3. What are the different phases of a plant's life cycle?
Ans. The different phases of the life cycle of a flowering plant include seed stage, germination of seed, growth and reproduction. Other phases include pollination and the spreading of fertilized seeds.
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