From flower to seed
Put the stages of pollination, fertilisation, seed and fruit formation and germination in the right order, and find out where in the flower each one happens.
Core concept
Pollen is carried to the stigma, a pollen tube carries the male gamete to the ovule, and after fertilisation the ovule becomes a seed and the ovary a fruit
Topic: Reproduction in plants
Flowers are the reproductive parts of many plants. Pollen grains, which carry the male gametes, are made in the anthers. pollination: Moving pollen from one flower to another so that seeds can form. Bees and wind help. All key words is the transfer of pollen to the stigma, by insects such as bees, by birds or by the wind. A pollen grain on the stigma grows a tube down through the style to an ovule inside the ovary. The male gamete travels down the tube and joins the egg cell: The tiny building block that every living thing is made of. All key words in the ovule: fertilisation. The fertilised ovule grows into a seed and the ovary swells into a fruit around it. Seeds are then dispersed, and in the right conditions each germinates into a new plant.
What you will learn
- Put the stages from pollination to germination in order.
- Say where in the flower each stage happens.
- Distinguish pollination from fertilisation.
Before you start
- Know the main parts of a flower.
Materials
- Stage cards, a mustard or pea flower to look at
Equipment
- Hand lens
Procedure
- Choose a stage card and find out where it happens.
- Place each stage in the right position in the sequence.