Sexual reproduction of a flowering plant
Sexual reproduction: Sexual reproduction in flowering plants centres around the flower. Within a flower, there are generally structures that produce both male gametes and female gametes. All the parts of a flower aid in the process of reproduction, although some of them are sterile.
(i) Flowering plants are the representatives of diploid saprophytic generations.
(ii) Gametophyte and saprophytic generations repeat alternately through sexual reproduction
(iii) Haploid spores (n) formed from diploid plants through division germinate to product the gametophyte generation (n).
(iv) Male and female gametes (n) unit together to from diploid (2n) embryos. The embryo remains dormant within the seed.
(v) During the germination of seeds, embryo grows up to form a new diploid saprophytic plant.
(vi) The gamete fusing with the eggs produce a zygote, which eventually grows to be an embryo.
(vi) The second gamete which fuses with the polar nuclei leads to the formation of endosperm nucleus, which looks after the nourishment of the embryo.
In the end, the fertilized ovules turn into seeds and the ovary itself turns into fruit.
