Fertilisation in Plants

• Growth of the pollen tube


  1. Pollen grain lands on the right stigma

  2. Pollen tube grows down the style towards the ovary

  3. Nucleus inside the pollen grain moves down the tube
• Ovary


  Contains one or more ovules
• Ovule


  Structure that eventually develops into a seed
• Ovum


  Egg cell that contains the female nucleus
• Fertilisation


  Fusion of the pollen grain nucleus and the ovum nucleus
• After fertilisation


  The ovule (that contains the zygote) develops
• The zygote will then start to divide and eventually develop into an embryo plant
• Pollen tube


  Structure that allows the pollen grain to reach the ovum nucleus
• Unlike the male gametes in animals (sperm), the pollen grain has no 'tail' to swim to the ovary of the flower
• Fertilisation in plants

  1. Pollen grain lands on stigma

  2. Pollen tube grows down style towards ovary

  3. Pollen grain nucleus moves down tube

  4. Pollen grain nucleus fuses with ovum nucleus

  5. Zygote forms and divides
• Ovule


  Structure that contains the ovum and develops into the seed after fertilisation
• Seed coat


  Develops from the wall of the ovule
• Fruit


  Develops from the ovary walls and contains the seeds
• Fruit


  • Provides a mechanism for seed dispersal
• Different plants have different numbers of ovules, which is why different fruits have different numbers of seeds