Plant Reproduction (Anatomy & Pollination)

This lesson covers:

  1. The male & female reproductive parts of a flowering plant
  2. What 'self pollination' & 'cross pollination' are 
  3. How flowers are adapted for insect & wind pollination 

Anatomy of a plant's flowers 


The flowers of plants have both male and female reproductive parts.

Diagram showing the anatomy of a plant's flower with labelled male and female reproductive parts including stamen, anther, filament, carpel, stigma, style, ovary, ovule, petal, and sepal.

Male parts


Stamen - the male organ of the flower. Basically 'stamen' is a word for the anther and filament combined.

Anther - the part of the stamen where pollen is produced.

Filament - the stalk that holds up the anther.

Female parts


Carpel - the female organ of the flower. Consists of the stigma, style, and ovary.

Stigma - the sticky tip that pollen attaches to.

Style - the stalk that holds up the stigma, and that the pollen tube will grow down.

Ovary - the structure that contains the ovules.

Ovules - the female gametes. You can think of these as equivalent to eggs in animals.

Neutral parts


Sepal - the outer green part of the flower, that encloses the flower bud whilst it develops.

Petal - Modified leaves that are used to attract insects.

Pollen is made in the __________

Style 

Stigma

Filament 

Ovary

Anther 

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Which structures make up the stamen?

(Select all that apply)

Style 

Ovary

Anther 

Filament 

Stigma

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2

Which structures make up the carpel?

(Select all that apply)

Anther 

Filament 

Stigma

Ovary

Style 

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Diagram of a flower showing labelled reproductive structure X.

What is the structure labelled X on the diagram above? 

Style

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What is the role of the stigma? 

To collect pollen grains

To hold up the anther 

To attract insects 

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Diagram of a flower showing labelled parts including the ovule.

Which letter represents the ovule (female gametes) on the image above? 

A

B

C

D

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The carpel is the _______ part of the flower

male

female

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Pollination


During plant reproduction, pollen grains need to move from the anther of one flower to the stigma of another flower. We call this process pollination. This is an important first step before fertilisation can happen.

There are two types of pollination you need to know about:

Diagram showing the process of pollination in a flower with pollen grains moving from the anther to the stigma.

Self-pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from an anther, to a stigma of the same plant. It could be the very same flower, or another flower on the same plant.

Diagram showing the pollination process with pollen grains moving from the anther of one flower to the stigma of another flower.

Cross-pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from an anther of one plant to a stigma of a different plant. The other plant does have to be the same species though.

Pollination is the process by which pollen grains move from the of one flower to the of another flower. 

anther
stigma

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Cross-pollination via insects and wind

Illustration showing cross-pollination between two plants with pollen grains traveling between them.

In order for plants to cross-pollinate, the pollen grains have to travel between plants. Plants themselves can’t transport the pollen grains, and so instead rely on insects or the wind.

Plants have different adaptations depending on the method of pollination they use.

Adaptations for insect pollination



  1. Brightly coloured petals that attract insects.
  2. Nice scents that attract insects.
  3. Nectaries that produce sugar nectar to attract insects. 
  4. Big, sticky pollen grains, which stick easily to the insects' bodies.
  5. Sticky stigmas so that pollen grains will rub off of the insects, and stick to the stigmas.
Bee pollinating a white flower, showcasing insect pollination.


Adaptations for wind pollination


Close-up of a plant releasing pollen grains into the air, illustrating wind pollination.
  1. Lots of small, light pollen grains that get blown long distances in the wind
  2. Long filaments so that the anthers hang out of the flower, and the pollen can be blown away more easily.
  3. Feathery stigmas that can trap lots of passing pollen grains.
  4. Smaller, less bright petals, and no nectaries or strong scents - as the flowers don't need to attract insects.

"Pollen grains are transferred from the anther of one plant to a stigma of a different plant"


Is the following statement describing self pollination or cross pollination? 

Self pollination

Cross pollination 

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Close-up image of a bee covered in pollen while pollinating an orange flower.

This image shows a bee drinking nectar from a flower.


You can see lots of little orange pollen grains that have stuck to the bee's body. These can then rub off onto the stigma of this flower or another flower. 

Which of the following adaptations are you likely to find in wind-pollinated flowers? 

(Select all that apply)

Small, light pollen grains 

Scented flowers

Large feathery stigmas 

Long filaments with anthers that hang out of the flower

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Which of the following adaptations are you likely to find in insect-pollinated flowers?

(Select all that apply)

Large sticky pollen grains 

Brightly coloured petals 

Large feathery stigmas 

Nectaries producing nectar

Small, light pollen grains 

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