Sexual Reproduction in Plants

Sexual Reproduction in Plants:

Sexual reproduction involves the production of gametes and their fusion.Gametes are produced in special structures in plants body. The major plant groups are mosses, ferns and seed plants. The seed plants include gymnosperms and angiosperms. Plants use different methods for bringing the sperm and egg cells. Therefore, these plants require water for sexual reproduction. On the other hand, gymnosperms and angiosperms have special methods for carrying their sperms to egg cells. They do not need water for reproduction.

In the life cycle of plants, two different generations alternate with each other. One generation is diploid and produces spores. It is called sporophyte generation. The other generation is haploid and produces gametes. It is called gametophyte generation. The phenomenon in which two different generation alternate with each other during life cycle is known as alternation of generations.

In most plants, a sporophyte generation is dominant. It means that it is big in size and is independent. Sporophyte produces haploid spores by meiosis. The spores develop into gametophyte. It is small in size and depends upon sporophyte. It produces gametes by mitosis. The male and female gametes fuse and form and form diploid zygote. The zygote undergoes repeated mitosis and develops into a new diploid sporophyte.