Class VII: Reproduction in Plants (Science) Notes–

- The production of new organisms from the existing organisms of the same species is called reproduction.

- There are two types of reproduction methods in plants:

I. Sexual:
●​ The production of new plants from existing plants by the fusion of their gametes (sex cells) is called sexual
reproduction.
●​ In sexual reproduction, new plants are obtained from existing plants through seeds.
●​ Some of the plants which are produced by sexual reproduction are — wheat, gram, maize, peas, paddy, sunflower,
cotton, mustard, and drumstick.

II. Asexual:
●​ The production of new plants from existing plants without the involvement of gametes (sex cells) is called asexual
reproduction.
●​ In asexual reproduction, new plants can be grown from old plants even without seeds.
●​ Some plants which can reproduce by this method are — rose, potato, ginger, turmeric, sweet potato, Dahlia,
sugarcane, Bryophyllum, and cactus.

- Node is a point on the stem (or branch) of a plant where a leaf is attached. Buds are also present in the node regions of the
plant.

- Axil is the upper angle between a leaf stalk and the stem (or branch) from which it is growing.

- Bud is a compact, knob-like undeveloped shoot consisting of a shortened stem and immature overlapping leaves.

- The asexual reproduction in plants can take place by the following methods:

I. Vegetative Propagation:
●​ In vegetative propagation, new plants are grown from the parts of old plants (like stems, roots, or leaves).
●​ Vegetative propagation usually involves the growth and development of one (or more) buds on the old part of the
plant to produce a new plant.

(a) Vegetative Propagation by Stems:

●​ New plants can be obtained from the stem (or branch) of an existing plant by the method of ‘cuttings’.
●​ The new plant formed from a cutting is exactly similar to the parent plant.
●​ Money plant, rose, champa, grapes, sugarcane, bananas, Bougainvillea, Chrysanthemum, cactus and henna can also
be grown by the cutting method of vegetative propagation.
●​ An advantage of the cutting method is that by using this method, we can produce many new plants from just one
plant quickly, without waiting for flowers and seeds.
●​ A cut part of a potato with a bud can grow into a new potato plant.
●​ The vegetative propagation method of producing potato plants by using ‘potato tuber cuttings’ is much faster than
the production of potato plants from seeds.

(b) Vegetative Propagation by Roots:

●​ There are, however, some plants which have modified, thickened roots which bear buds.
●​ The root tubers of sweet potato have modified roots thickened with stored food which are called root tubers.
●​ The root tubers of Dahlia have buds in them which can grow to produce new Dahila plants.

(c) Vegetative Propagation by Leaves:

●​ One example of a plant which can reproduce from its leaves is Bryophyllum.
●​ The leaves of Bryophyllum plant develop some buds in its margins (or edges).
●​ When a mature leaf of Bryophyllum plant falls on the ground, then each bud can grow into a new plant.
●​ Another plant called Begonia also reproduces by vegetative propagation of leaves.
 ●​ The Begonia plant has buds on its leaves which can grow into new plants when the leaves fall on the ground.
●​ The plants such as cacti produce new plants when their parts get detached from the main body and fall on the
ground (singular-cactus; plural-cacti).

II. Budding:
●​ In budding, a small part of the body of the parent plant grows out a bulb-like projection called ‘bud’ which then
detaches and becomes a new parent plant.
●​ Yeast is a single-celled organism which reproduces by budding.
●​ In yeast, first a bud appears on the outside of the cell wall. The nucleus of the parent yeast cell then divides into two
parts and one part of the nucleus moves into the bud.
●​ Ultimately, the bud separates off from the parent yeast cell and forms a new yeast cell (or new yeast plant).

III. Fragmentation:
●​ The breaking up of a body of a plant into two (or more) pieces on maturing, each of which subsequently grows to
form a new plant, is called fragmentation.
●​ An alga called Spirogyra reproduces by this method.
●​ When Spirogyra becomes mature, its filament (body) simply breaks into two or more fragments on its own, and each
fragment then grows into a new Spirogyra.
●​ This process of reproduction in Spirogyra goes on and on.

IV. Spore Formation:

●​ Spores are reproductive asexual bodies that are not seeds.
●​ In the spore formation method of reproduction, the parent plant produces hundreds of tiny spores in ‘spore cases’.
●​ When the spore of the plant bursts, then the spores spread into the air. As the spores are very light, they keep
floating in the air and are carried over large distances by air.
●​ Each spore is covered with a hard, protective coat to withstand unfavorable conditions such as high temperature
and low humidity. Due to this, spores can survive for a long time.
●​ When the air-borne spores land on food (or soil) under favorable conditions (like damp and warm conditions), they
germinate and produce new plants.
●​ Most of the fungi, and flowerless plants (such as ferns and mosses) reproduce asexually by the means of spores.
●​ The common bread mould plant (or Rhizopus fungus) reproduces by the method of spore formation.

- Most of the flowering plants reproduce by sexual reproduction method involving the fusion of sex cells called gametes.
​
- Flowers are the reproductive parts of a plant.
- Flowers perform the function of reproduction in plants by producing seeds of the plant.

- The main parts of a flower are:

I. Receptacle:
●​ The base of a flower to which all the parts of a flower are attached is called receptacle.

II. Sepals:
●​ The green, leaf-like parts in the outermost circle of a flower are called sepals.
●​ All the sepals taken together are called ‘calyx’.
●​ The function of the sepals (or calyx) is to protect the flower in its initial stages when it is in the form of a flower bud.

III. Petals:
●​ The colorful parts of a flower are called petals.
●​ The petals lie inside the sepals.
●​ All the petals taken together are called ‘corolla’. The petals are usually scented.
●​ The function of the petals is to attract insects (for pollination) and to protect the reproductive organs which are at
the centre of the flower.
​
IV. Stamen:
 ●​ Stamen is the male reproductive part of the plant.
●​ The stamen is made up of two parts — Anther and Filament
●​ Anther makes the pollen grains and stores them.
●​ Pollen grains contain the male gametes (or male sex cells) of the plant.

V. Pistil:
●​ Pistil is the female reproductive part of the plant.
●​ A pistil is made up of three parts — Stigma, Style, and Ovary.
●​ The ovary makes the ovules and stores them.
●​ Ovules contain the female gametes (or female sex cells) of the plant.

- The flowers which contain only one reproductive organ (either male or female) are called unisexual flowers.

- The flowers which contain both reproductive organs (male and female) are called bisexual flowers.

- A new seed of a plant is formed when the male gamete present in a pollen grain unites with the female gamete present in
the ovule.

- The transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma of the plant is called pollination.

- Pollination can occur in two ways:

I. Self-Pollination:
●​ When the pollen grains land on the stigma of the same flower or different flower on the same plant, it is called
self-pollination.

II. Cross-Pollination:
●​ When the pollen grains land on the stigma of the same flower on a different plant of the same species, it is called
cross-pollination.

- Pollination is done by insects, wind, and water:

I. Pollination by Insects:
●​ Pollination is done by insects such as bees and butterflies.
●​ The insects carry pollen from one flower to another and help in pollination.

II. Pollination by Wind:

●​ The blowing wind carries pollen grains from flower to flower and helps in pollination.

III. Pollination by Water:

●​ The pollination in aquatic plants is done by water.
●​ Since pollen grains are light, they can be carried by water from flower to flower.

- The fusion of male and female gametes to form zygote is called fertilisation.

- Fertilisation takes place as follows:

●​ When a pollen grain falls on the stigma of a flower, the pollen grain grows a pollen tube downwards through the
style towards the female gamete in the ovary.
●​ The male gamete then moves down the pollen tube and reaches the ovule where the female gamete is present.
●​ The male gamete fuses with the female gamete and forms a ‘fertilised egg cell’ called ‘zygote’. The zygote then
develops into an embryo.
●​ The ovule present in the ovary grows to become a seed.
●​ All the ovules present in the ovary of the flower get fertilised by pollen grains and grow to become seeds.
●​ The ovary of a flower develops into a fruit.
- The process in which a seed begins to grow is called germination.

- ‘Dispersal of seeds’ means ‘to scatter seeds over a wide area’.

- The same kinds of plants grow at different places because their seeds are dispersed to different places by various natural
agents like wind, water, animals, etc.

- The seeds and fruits of many plants are adapted for dispersal in wide areas.

- Seed dispersal is beneficial to plants.

- Here is how seeds and fruits are dispersed:

●​ The various seeds and fruits have special adaptations in them due to which they are adapted to be carried away
easily by the different agents.

I. Dispersal of Seeds and Fruits by Wind:

●​ The seeds and fruits dispersed by wind either have wing-like structures or they have hair or they are very small and
light, which helps them to be carried away easily by the wind.
●​ Some of the plants whose seeds or fruits are dispersed by wind — Drumstick, Maple, Madar, Sunflower, Cotton,
Grasses, Orchids, and Begonia.

II. Dispersal of Seeds and Fruits by Water:

●​ The seeds and fruits of some plants are dispersed by water.
●​ These fruits and seeds develop floating ability in the form of spongy or fibrous outer coats, which help them to float
in water.
●​ The plants whose seeds are dispersed by water — Water lily and Coconut.

III. Dispersal of Seeds and Fruits by Animals:

●​ Some fruits develop hooks on their surface by which they get attached to the hairy bodies of some animals and are
carried away to distant places.
●​ The two seeds/fruits dispersed by animals — Xanthium and Urena.

IV. Dispersal of Seeds by an Explosive Mechanism:

●​ When some fruits ripen, strain is set up in their walls until the fruit splits into two halves (making a small explosion)
and their seeds are thrown by the plant with a great force in all directions.
●​ The two plants whose seeds are dispersed by an explosive mechanism — Castor and Balsam.