4.

8 Sexual Reproductive System

of Flowering Plants
1.Flowering plants reproduce by sexual reproduction.
2.The flower is very important in the reproductive system of the
plant.
3.Flowers reproduce the male and female gametes for sexual
reproduction. They produce seeds which finally grow into new
plants.
4.Some flowers are bisexual. These flowers have both the male
and female reproductive organs.
5.Some are unisexual. They only have either the male or female
organs.

Structure and Function of the Flower

1.The parts of a flower are the sepals, petals, stamen
and pistil. They are arranged in four rings and are
attached to the receptacle at the end of the flower
stalk

Structure and Function of the Flower

Structure Characteristic

Function

Sepal

Outermost whorl, usually green Protects the flower during

bud stage

Petal

Second whorl, usually coloured

Attracts insects and animals

Stamen

Consists of filament and anther

Male reproductive part

Pistil

Made up of the stigma, style and Female reproductive part

ovary

Structure and Function of the Flower

1.Sepals form the outermost ring
of the flower. They are usually
green in colour and may look like
leaves. They protect the flower
during the bud stage.
2.Petals form the second ring of
the flower.
3.They are the most obvious parts
of the flower. They are usually
brightly coloured and often
scented.

(b) At the bud stage, the petals

protect the stamens and pistil of
the flower.
(c) When the flower is in full
bloom, the brightly coloured
petals attract insects for
pollination.

Structure and Function of the Flower

1.Stamens are the male reproduction
organs of the flower. Each stamen is
made up of two parts:
2.The filament is a long stem-like
structure. It is attached to the
receptacle at one end and holds an
anther at the other.
3.The anther is made up of two to four
lobes. Inside the anther are pollen
sacs where the pollen grains are
formed.
4. The anther and pollen grains may
have different shapes and sizes.

Structure and Function of the Flower

6.Each pollen grain has two nuclei
inside the cytoplasm.
The cytoplasm is surrounded by two
layers of walls.
The surface of the pollen grain is
rough, to enable it to stick to the
stigma.
The bigger nucleus is called the
generative nucleus which forms the
male gametes.
The smaller one is called the tube
nucleus.

Structure and Function of the Flower

1.The pistil is the female reproduction
organ of the flower. It is also known as
the carpel. Each pistil is made up of
the following parts.
2.The stigma, which has a sticky
surface for the pollen grains to
attach (e.g hibiscus). Some flowers
have featherlike stigmas to catch the
pollen grains (e.g grass and maize
flowers).
3.The style joins the stigma to the
ovary. It is made up of soft tissues
which allows the pollen tube to grow
down towards the ovule.

1.The ovary is attached to the

receptacle of the flower. It surrounds
and protects the ovule inside.
2.The ovules are attached to the
ovary wall. Inside the ovule is the
ovum, the female gamete.

Structure and Function of the Flower

Question

1.Give two differences between the sepals and the petals of a hibiscus
flower.
Petal

Sepal

Big

Small

Red

Green

2.Jane planted two papaya trees in her garden. After a few months
both plants started to flower. However, only one plant bears fruits.
Why?-Papaya plants have unisexual flowers that are either male or
female flowers. The papaya plant with no fruits possibly has only
male flowers. Thus fertilisation does not take place and no fruits
are formed.

4.9 POLLINATION

a) SELF POLLINATION

b) CROSS POLLINATION