Sexual Reproduction
This type of reproduction is seen in both plants and most animals. This involves two individuals of
opposite sex having specialized sex organs that produce gametes. These gametes fuse in a
favourable environment to give rise to a new organism or offspring.
Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves the production of an offspring by the
fusion of male and female gametes. These gametes are either formed by the same individual or by
different individuals of the opposite sex. This process is usually slow and complex compared to
asexual reproduction. The organisms so produced are genetically diverse. Thus, they can evolve
along with the changing climatic conditions. Humans and many multicellular organisms exhibit a
sexual mode of reproduction.
Reproduction in Plants
Plants reproduce by sexual and asexual means. Sexual reproduction in plants happens in flowering
plants who have both male and female in the same flower or in separate flowers. Flowers that
contain either male or female parts are called unisexual plants whereas those with both male and
female parts are called as bisexual or hermaphrodite plants.
The female reproductive organs are called the gynoecium consisting of stigma style and ovaries.
The ovaries contain ovules which contain the female [Link] male reproductive organs are
collectively known as the androecium which consists of filament anther and stamens. The pollen
grains on the stamens contain the male gamete.
Through different modes of pollination, pollen grains are carried to the stigma of the same or a
different flower. Once the pollen lands on the stigma, it is passed through the style to reach the
ovaries where fertilization occurs and the ovary becomes the fruit and the ovules become
the seeds. These seeds, on finding a favourable environment, give rise to a new plant.
In asexual reproduction, new plants are obtained without producing seeds. Vegetative reproduction
is the main mode of plant reproduction. As the name suggests, reproduction occurs through the
vegetative parts of a plant such as stems, leaves, buds, and roots such as a corm, stem tuber,
rhizomes and stolon. These plants take less time to grow and are exact replicas of their parents as
they are reproduced from a single parent. Following are a few ways in which plants reproduce
asexually: vegetative Propagation, budding, fragmentation, spore formation and micropropagation
among others.
