Flowers and pollination
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| pollination | 传粉 | chuán fěn |
| stamen | 雄蕊 | xióng ruǐ |
| anther | 花药 | huā yào |
| carpel | 雌蕊 | cí ruǐ |
| stigma | 柱头 | zhù tóu |
| ovary | 子房 | zi fáng |
| cross-pollination | 异花传粉 | yì huā chuán fěn |
| self-pollination | 自花传粉 | zì huā chuán fěn |
How flowering plants reproduce
- A flower is a plant's reproductive organ, built to make seeds.
- It does this through pollination 传粉 and fertilisation.
Pollen is produced by the:
The anther (part of the stamen) makes pollen.
The female part of the flower, made of stigma, style and ovary, is the ______.
The carpel is the female reproductive part.
Parts of a flower
- Male parts (stamen 雄蕊): the anther 花药 (makes pollen) on a filament.
- Female parts (carpel 雌蕊): the stigma 柱头, style and ovary 子房 (holds ovules).
A real lily: the long stamens make pollen and the central stigma receives it
An insect-pollinated flower: the male stamens and the female carpel
Pollination and fertilisation
Pollination delivers pollen to the stigma; a pollen tube then carries the male nucleus to the egg.
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther to a:
Pollen moves from anther to stigma.
Insect-pollinated flowers are usually:
Bright, scented flowers attract insects.
Pollination
- Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther to a stigma.
- Insect-pollinated flowers are bright and scented; wind-pollinated flowers have feathery stigmas and dangling anthers.
Pollen grains under an electron microscope: their spiky coats help them stick to insects
Cross-pollination produces more variation than self-pollination.
Mixing genes between plants increases variation.
Self vs cross pollination 异花传粉
- Self-pollination 自花传粉: pollen lands on the same plant — less variation.
- Cross-pollination: pollen reaches a different plant — more variation.
Worked example. A bee visits a bright, scented flower for nectar, brushing against the anther. It carries pollen to the next flower's stigma — insect cross-pollination, which mixes genes between plants.
You've got it
- stamen (anther + filament) is male; carpel (stigma, style, ovary) is female
- pollination = pollen moved from anther to stigma (by insects or wind)
- cross-pollination gives more variation than self-pollination