Plants that reproduce sexually

Sexual reproduction in plants is one in which the union of gametes, special germ cells, occurs. When talking about the characteristics of sexual reproduction in plants and the phases of plant reproduction , the most common is to take the example of angiosperms . How do flowering plants reproduce? In this case, the most popular, you have to count the following stages:

1. First, pollen forms in the stamens .
2. After this, pollination occurs , which occurs when a pollen grain reaches the pistil. How does pollen get from one plant to another? Here each species has its strategy: it can depend on the wind, rain or pollinating animals.
3. Next, the male gametes come into contact with the ovules, within the gynoecium.
4. Male and female gametes unite, leading to fertilization.
5. Finally, the formation of the seeds begins in the fertilization phase, after which the gynoecium will turn into a fruit with the seed or seeds inside. These seeds will spread through the land thanks to the fruits that will be consumed by animals.

It is also necessary to differentiate the form of fertilization in the types of plant reproduction : autogamy and allogamy.

Autogamy is plant fertilization in which the pollen grain generated fertilizes the same flower in which it was generated, so that the plant self-fertilizes. This allows the plant to multiply in conditions to which it has already adapted, rapidly increasing its number of individuals when it is already in a beneficial ecological niche.

Alogamy , on the other hand, occurs when the pollen grain travels to a different flower. By combining genetic material from two different individuals, there is a greater capacity for adaptation, since mutations and natural selection will allow adaptation to a hostile environment or that has undergone changes. It must be borne in mind, however, that within allogamy it is necessary to differentiate xenogamy, which is when we speak of different parent individuals, and geitonogamy, which is when pollen fertilizes a different flower, but from the same individual.

There are a huge number of examples of plants that reproduce sexually . In fact, all flowering plants, angiosperms , do. Examples of this are the following flowering plants , among many others:

• Margaritas
• Roses
• Violets
• Dalias
• Hortensias
• Cactus

Daisies , with the scientific name Bellis perennis , is an evergreen herbaceous plant that reaches heights of up to 20 cm and has showy flowers that are also edible. The daisy plant is very decorative and is often used to make herbal teas with beneficial properties.

Roses are a whole genus of shrubs, almost always with thorns on their stems, of the Rosaceae family. It is common to call the flower that the bush gives pink, which is called a rose bush. There are more than a hundred species of rose bushes , some of them especially valued for their large and fragrant flowers, a symbol of love in a large number of countries.

Cacti deserve special mention and, although these succulents are capable of reproducing asexually through the generation of suckers, a method widely used to propagate them as indoor or garden plants, they are also capable of reproducing sexually through their flowers. It is true, however, that some cacti need a long time and very specific conditions to produce their flower, since they are plants native to very harsh and dry environments, where this investment of energy and nutrients cannot be done lightly. Here we show you many types of cacti .

In these other articles you can meet many more flowering plants, and therefore they reproduce sexually: 15 plants with red flowers and 20 plants with yellow flowers .

As you may already know, plants can reproduce both sexually and asexually. The types of sexual reproduction in plants allow to expand genetic diversity, giving rise to new species and individuals with new characteristics that allow them to better adapt to their conditions or, simply, to be more beneficial for human cultivation. However, not all types of sexual reproduction in plants involve the participation of two individuals of different genetic material.

The asexual reproduction in plants , however, is always based on cell division by mitosis . It can occur by excision, when a part of the original body separates and gives rise to the rest of the new individual, or by budding, which is when the parent gives rise to a bud or bud from which a new complete individual is born, which does not have for what to separate from the first.

Now you have learned all this about plants that have sexual reproduction, we encourage you to learn more by reading these other items on the reproduction of plants and plants with asexual reproduction: features and examples .

If you want to read more articles similar to Plants that reproduce sexually , we recommend that you enter our Biology category .