Pollination

Learning objectives

To illustrate the fertilization process of seed plants.
To understand that a fruit always develops from a flower.
To review the anatomy of flowers and the functions of each organ.

Sexual reproduction in plants involves the formation of ovules and their fertilisation by pollen. The wind and water can be the vectors of this pollination but insects are the major actors in the process.

Unlike vegetative modes of reproduction, like cuttings, pollination assures that sexual reproduction will occur, which allows the mixing of genetic material, and so improves the probability of adapting to the environment.