Part 3: Growth, Reproduction, and Evolution—Plant Reproduction

Sexual reproduction involves flowers, which house the plant’s reproductive organs and are responsible for making the necessary cells and structures for new offspring. Mature plants produce both male and female gametes. Male gametes are called sperm and female gametes are called eggs. In order to produce a new plant, an egg and sperm must combine in a process called fertilization. Sex cells can be transferred within the same plant or to different plants by many mechanisms. Pollination is one method that utilizes insects, water, or wind to transfer pollen grains (a group of gamete cells). When a male gamete and a female gamete come together, they form a two-cell organism called a diploid. Under favorable conditions, this new cell replicates, divides, and eventually forms a seed. Sexual reproduction is advantageous because it permits for genetic variation, but is disadvantageous because it costs the plant a lot of time, energy, and resources. It also decreases the likelihood that a new plant will be produced because so many outside factors (herbivores, environmental conditions, distance between plants, etc.) are capable of influencing the course of reproduction.