medium difficulty5 min

Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants

Sexual reproduction in flowering plants involves formation of male and female gametes in the flower, followed by pollination, fertilisation, and seed formation.

In one line: Anther makes pollen; stigma receives it.

Practice This Concept

Understand it

The stamen is the male reproductive part and produces pollen grains.
The pistil or carpel is the female reproductive part, with stigma, style, and ovary.
The ovary contains ovules, and the female gamete is present inside the ovule.
After pollen reaches the stigma, the male gamete is carried towards the ovule for fertilisation.

Example

In a hibiscus flower, stamens produce pollen and the pistil receives pollen on the stigma before fertilisation can occur.

Rule to remember

Stamen produces pollen; pistil receives pollen; ovule contains female gamete; fertilised ovule develops into seed.

See it worked out

Follow the example line by line, then use the same method on new questions.

Worked example

If a diagram label points to the swollen basal part of the pistil, identify it as ovary and state that it contains ovules.

Method you can reuse

1Identify male part first: anther makes pollen.
2Identify female part next: stigma receives pollen, style provides path, ovary contains ovules.

Sketch it in your answer

Use a longitudinal section of a flower with labels: anther, filament, stigma, style, ovary, ovule, sepal, and petal.

Check yourself

Answer the question in your head before opening the answer.

Try it yourself

What are the male and female reproductive parts of a flower?

Think first, then show answer

The male reproductive part is the stamen, made of anther and filament, and the female reproductive part is the pistil or carpel, made of stigma, style, and ovary.

Common wrong answer

Writing stigma as the part that produces pollen is wrong; stigma receives pollen, while anther produces pollen.

Don't mix this up

Students often write that pollen grain itself is the male gamete; pollen carries the male gamete.

Exam tip

In labelled diagrams, mark stamen, anther, filament, stigma, style, ovary, and ovule clearly.