Plant Reproduction - Structures and Strategies

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering plant reproductive structures, methods of pollination, fertilisation processes, and types of asexual reproduction structures.

Sexual reproduction

A reproduction method that requires gametes and special structures to create genetic variation in offspring.

Asexual reproduction

A reproduction method that produces clones without the need for gametes, often utilizing specialized structures.

Stamen

The male reproductive structure in flowers, which includes the anther and filament.

Pollen

A fine powder that houses the male gametes produced by the anther.

Pistil

The female reproductive structures in flowers, including the stigma, ovary, and style.

Stigma

The opening of the female reproductive system that receives pollen.

Pollinator

Agents such as insects, wind, water, or passing animals that actively transfer pollen between plants.

Pollination

The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma for the purpose of fertilisation.

Self-pollination

When pollen from a parent plant lands on its own stigma or the stigma of another flower on the same parent plant, producing genetically similar offspring.

Cross-pollination

When pollen from one plant transfers to another plant's stigma, resulting in a mix of genetics from each parent.

Fertilisation

The process occurring after pollination where a sperm cell from the pollen fertilises the egg cell in the ovary.

Zygote

A cell formed after plant fertilisation that contains a unique combination of parental traits and develops into a seed.

Bulb

An asexual structure consisting of modified leaf layers found underground for food and seed storage, such as in onions and daffodils.

Rhizome

A piece of stem growing horizontally underground that creates new shoots, such as in bamboo and ginger.

Runner

A stem growing horizontally on top of the soil that sprouts new seedlings, such as in strawberries and mint.

Spore

Reproductive structures released from the surface of plants and fungi, such as ferns and mushrooms.

Tuber

A swollen underground root containing nutrients to sprout buds, such as in potatoes and dahlias.

Germination

The development of a seed or spore into a seedling.

Sprout

The root and stem growth forming the starting shoot of a plant.

Ovule

The structure within the ovary that contains the female plant 'egg'.