1.2.9

Pollination

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Movement in Plant Reproduction

Plants don't have muscles, and so are unable to move themselves. They rely on a variety of strategies to move their gametes and disperse their seeds.

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Pollination

  • Plants don’t want to self-fertilise because they have both male and female organs.
    • They must get their pollen onto another plant.
  • This can be done through wind, where pollen is blown onto neighbouring plants.
  • When pollinating insects are feeding on nectar, they pick up pollen on their bodies.
    • When they land on another plant to feed, they brush this pollen off. This fertilises the second plant.
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Seed dispersion

  • When they're fertilised, plants make seeds.
  • The problem they need to solve is how to get the seed far away from the parent plant so that they aren’t both competing for the same resources such as light, water and minerals.
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Animals involved in seed dispersion

  • Fruit:
    • Some plants have the seeds in fruit. Animals eat these fruits and then walk some distance before depositing their faeces (which contain the seeds and act as a great nutrient source).
  • Physical attachment:
    • Some seeds have rough edges, much like velcro.
    • This means that when an animal walks past, the seeds get caught in their fur. The seeds are then transported a long way away from the original site.
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Wind involved in seed dispersion

  • Some plants' seeds have evolved to be blown in the wind. They are often blown over great distances.
  • Some seed pods have evolved so that, when they fall from the tree, they can glide for some considerable time. This takes them further away from the parent plant.

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Thinking Scientifically

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