Reproduction in flowering plants | Year 5 Science PDF Download

What is reproduction?

• Reproduction refers to having babies or offspring. Similar to animals, plants need to reproduce. Plant offspring are known as seeds or bulbs.

Reproduction in flowering plants

• Unlike animals, plants don't require a male and a female because their flowers contain both male and female parts.
• In plants, pollen is similar to sperm in animals and originates from the male part of the flower. Plants also have eggs, which come from the female part of the flower.

How do plants reproduce?

These are the steps in reproduction in flowering plants:

• Pollen is transferred from one flower to another by the wind or by insects like bees. This process is called pollination.
• When pollen reaches the new flower, it travels to the ovary where it combines with egg cells (ovules) to form seeds. This process is called fertilization, similar to animals.
• The seeds are then scattered by animals or the wind, a process known as dispersal.
• Some of the dispersed seeds will germinate and grow into new plants.

Asexual reproduction

• Some plants can also reproduce without an egg cell being fertilized to produce a seed. Instead, these plants create an identical copy of themselves through a process known as asexual reproduction.
• Plants can reproduce asexually in various ways. Some plants, like daffodils and snowdrops, produce bulbs. Others, like potatoes, produce tubers. These bulbs and tubers sit under the soil and develop into new plants the following year.