Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants Mind Map

A flower is the reproductive shoot of an angiosperm that bears the male whorl, androecium, and the female whorl, gynoecium, along with accessory whorls such as calyx and corolla.

When asked about the flower as a reproductive organ, write the two essential whorls first, then mention how accessory whorls assist reproduction indirectly.

A stamen is the male reproductive unit of a flower, consisting of filament and anther; each anther contains microsporangia where microspore mother cells undergo meiosis to form pollen grains.

Use the sequence microspore mother cell, meiosis, microspore tetrad, pollen grain when writing microsporogenesis.

The pistil is the female reproductive part of a flower, and the ovule inside its ovary acts as the megasporangium where megasporogenesis and embryo sac formation occur.

In embryo sac answers, always mention the micropylar end and chalazal end because orientation helps score diagram and explanation marks.

Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma of a flower, enabling pollen-pistil interaction and later fertilisation.

For types of pollination, mention both the physical source of pollen and the genetic consequence.

Double fertilisation is the angiosperm process in which one male gamete fuses with the egg to form the zygote and the other fuses with two polar nuclei to form the primary endosperm nucleus.

Write syngamy and triple fusion separately, with the fusion partners and products for each.

Post-fertilisation events are the changes after double fertilisation in which the primary endosperm nucleus forms endosperm, the zygote forms embryo, ovule becomes seed, and ovary becomes fruit.

For post-fertilisation answers, present changes as paired conversions: zygote to embryo, primary endosperm nucleus to endosperm, ovule to seed, ovary to fruit.

Apomixis is seed formation without fertilisation, while polyembryony is the occurrence of more than one embryo in a single seed.

In short answers, define both terms separately and then add agricultural significance for apomixis.