Plants

Reproduction in Plants

• Plants exhibit both sexual and asexual reproduction.
• In sexual reproduction, plants use flowers as their reproductive structures.
• The male parts of a flower are known as stamens, which produce pollen, while the female parts, known as pistils, contain the ovule.
• The process occurs during pollination, when the pollen from the stamen lands on the stigma at the top of the pistil.
• After pollination, fertilisation takes place and a seed is formed inside the ovary of the flower.
• The mature ovary then forms a fruit, which aids in the dispersal of seeds.
• The three main methods of seed dispersal in plants are wind, water, and animals.

Asexual Reproduction in Plants

• Different forms of asexual reproduction include vegetative propagation, budding, spore formation, and others.
• An example of vegetative propagation is through runners, such as seen in strawberry plants.
• The process of cuttings, where a section of a stem is placed in appropriate soil conditions to develop into a new plant, is another common method of asexual reproduction in plants.
• Some plants, such as ferns and mosses, reproduce using spores instead of seeds.

Plant Inheritance

• Traits are transmitted from parent plants to offspring through genes in the DNA of the plant cells.
• Dominant traits will exhibit in the plant if the allele is present on only one chromosome pair.
• Recessive traits only appear in the phenotype if the allele is present on both chromosome pairs.
• Co-dominant traits show simultaneous expression of both alleles at the same locus.
• With plant breeding, it is possible to select and breed plants with particular desirable traits, such as resistance to pests or improved yield.