16.3 Sexual reproduction in plants

2026 Syllabus Objectives

  1. Identify in diagrams and images and draw the following parts of an insect-pollinated flower: sepals, petals, stamens, filaments, anthers, carpels, style, stigma, ovary and ovules
  2. State the functions of the structures listed in 16.3.1
  3. Identify in diagrams and images and describe the anthers and stigmas of a wind-pollinated flower
  4. Distinguish between the pollen grains of insect-pollinated and wind-pollinated flowers
  5. Describe pollination as the transfer of pollen grains from an anther to a stigma
  6. State that fertilisation occurs when a pollen nucleus fuses with a nucleus in an ovule
  7. Describe the structural adaptations of insect-pollinated and wind-pollinated flowers
  8. Investigate and describe the environmental conditions that affect germination of seeds, limited to the requirement for: water, oxygen and a suitable temperature
  9. Describe self-pollination as the transfer of pollen grains from the anther of a flower to the stigma of the same flower or a different flower on the same plant
  10. Describe cross-pollination as the transfer of pollen grains from the anther of a flower to the stigma of a flower on a different plant of the same species
  11. Discuss the potential effects of self-pollination and cross-pollination on a population, in terms of variation, capacity to respond to changes in the environment and reliance on pollinators
  12. Describe the growth of the pollen tube and its entry into the ovule followed by fertilisation (details of production of endosperm and development are not required)

Structure of Flowering Plants 🌸

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Many flowering plants can reproduce in more than one way. Often, they can reproduce asexually and also sexually, by means of flowers. The function of a flower is to make gametes and to ensure that fertilisation will take place. Most, but not all, flowers are hermaphrodites, making both male and female gametes.

Key Terminology 🔑

Sepals - leaf-like structures that form a ring outside the petals of a flower

Petals - coloured structures that attract insects or birds to a flower

Stamens - the male parts of a flower

Filament - the 'stalk' part of a stamen

Anther - the structure at the top of a stamen, inside which pollen grains are made

Pollen grains - small structures which contain the male gametes of a flower

Carpel - the female part of a flower

Ovary - the part of the flower that holds the ovules

Ovules - small structures that contain the female gametes

Style - the part of a carpel that connects the stigma to the ovary

Stigma - the part of a flower that receives pollen

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