ALBERTO P. NAVARETTE JR.

EARTH AND LIFE

GAS 11 BOYLE MRS. CRUZ

A morphological continuity does exist between flowers, fruits and seeds. Basically, it is the flower’s ovary which
develops into a fruit and in turn contains the seed. Flower is a reproductive part of flowering seed plants. It is
basically made of 4 concentric ring of structures such as sepals, pistils, petals, and stamens. Fruit is a ripened
ovary containing seeds. And seeds are fully developed ovules that are capable of producing a new plant.

An ovary of a flowering fruit tree will eventually become a fruit. And the fruit once it is consumed or decays,
seeds inside will become a foundation of life to become another fruit bearing tree. It all starts with
photosynthesis...then when it bears flowers, pollination comes after so that the ovary of flowers can become
fertiled and eventually become a fruit.

FLOWERS
Flowers play a major role in sexual reproduction as it houses the structures for this process. Below is the picture of
a flower and the structures involved directly/ indirectly in sexual reproduction.

2. Vegetative Part

a. Receptacle – holds the floral parts of the flower

b. Sepal – modified leaves that protects a flower in bud and holds the petals when in bloom
c. Calyx – collective term for the sepals
d. Petal – modified leaves that surround the reproductive organ or plants; normally colourful, and with odor, to
attract pollinators
e. Corolla – collective term for petals
f. Inflorescence – cluster of flowers

3. Reproductive Part
a. Stamen – male reproductive organ
b. Filament – stalk that holds the anther at the end
c. Anther – produces the pollen which houses the sperm cell
d. Carpel – Female reproductive organ. Singly or fused, is called a pistil
e. Style – the slender neck of the carpel which holds the stigma at its end.
f. Stigma – is a structure with sticky substance which traps pollen
g. Ovary – the bulbous structure of the carpel which contains the ovule
h. Ovule – has the egg cell of the plant.
4. Complete vs Incomplete Flower
a. A complete flower has all the parts described
b. An incomplete flower is missing one or more parts
5. Adaptive mechanisms
a. As the flower is important in the development of a fruit and the eventual dispersal of the seed for plant
propagation, it has evolved different adaptive mechanisms.
b. This structure to function relationship is important as the plant should be able to attract specific pollinators to
increasing the success rate of its propagation.
c. Competition among plants over one pollinator may result in lesser chance of propagation.

FRUITS
1. Fruits – structures that not only protect the seeds of plants but also aid in their dispersal; derived from the
maturation of a flower’s ovary
a. The ovary walls eventually become the pericarp during development.
b. The pericarp is further divided into three parts: the exocarp or skin, the mesocarp or the flesh and the
endocarp, which is the core.
c. Depending on fruit adaptations, the pericarp can be stony, woody, fleshy as such the endocarp might not be
fleshy, the exocarp might be rubbery or woody, etc.
• For example: the apple’s seed and fruit is protected by an accessory fruit which formed from the fleshy
receptacle. This ensures that the seed will not be harmed during the consumption of the fleshy receptacle, as
the fruit is not eaten, rather is thrown, aiding in its dispersal. Again, this is an example of a structure function
relationship not only in one organ (the fruit) but between the flower and the fruit that was formed.

SEEDS
1. The seed or mature ovules contain the embryo, which will eventually germinate and grow if properly dispersed in
a favorable environment.
2. To protect the embryo from harsh environmental conditions, it goes into a state of dormancy until a period for
favorable growth and development arrives. The embryo, which is not able to produce its own food yet, is provided
with food by the cotyledon or the endosperm, or both.
3. To protect the embryo, the seed coat has an hardened outer covering which protects it from physical or chemical
disturbances.
4. The embryo is composed of the hypocotyl or the embryonic axis which termites to the radicle or the embryonic
root and the epicotyl, which is attached to the first, leaves.
5. The young leaves—together with the cotyledon, the epicotyl and the apical meristem (responsible for apical
growth or elongation)—is called the plumule. 6. In grass, the embryo is protected by two sheaths: the coleoptile
(protects the young shoots) and coleorhiza (protects the young roots).

SEED AND FRUIT DISPERSAL

1. Like pollination in plants, different agents aid seed and fruit dispersal.
a. Abiotic agents (wind, water)
b. Biotic agents (animals)

2. In order to propagate, plants have evolved in order to adapt to their environments.

a. Flowers ensures the formation of the embryo through different adaptations for pollination and fertilization.
 b. The developing embryo is helped by the adaptation of the
fruit and seeds, which further protects and aids in its
propagation.

Tomato plants belong to the plant group known

as flowering plants or angiosperms. The
tomato plant reproduces sexually, meaning that
it requires both female and male organs to
produce seeds. Every tomato seed has a tiny
tomato plant inside. When the conditions are
just right, tomato seeds will germinate.

A mango tree must first be able to be pollinated, therefore it needs to bear

flowers. Typically, mango trees are pollinated via wind, flies, butterflies, and moths. A
unique characteristic of this organism is that mango trees are rarely pollinated by bees,

such as the European Honey Bee. This is believed to be

the case as many other plants are also producing flowers at the same time mango trees
do and the bees are more attracted to other
plants. Mango plants can also self pollinate as they
are monoecious, meaning male and female
reproductive organs are found on the same
plant. These reproductive organs are found in the
flowers of the plant.

Like most plants, orchids are able

to reproduce themselves in two different ways; the
one way sexually by seed, and the other asexually by
vegetative propagation. ... Vegetative propagation can
be accomplished in three ways; that is, by division,
back bulbs and offshoots.
 Some cactuses reproduce both sexually and
asexually; reproduce without seeds and flowers. Both
prickly pear and cholla cactuses have stems with
weak connecting joints. Oftentimes a part of a stem is
knocked off and sticks in the ground. If conditions are
right, that stem segment can sometimes grow new
roots and establish a completely new plant. It then
develops its own stems and flowers.

How do bananas reproduce? Do the trees produce flowers or

seeds? Yes, they have both, however, bananas have been bred
so much they don't really reproduce that way
anymore. Bananas are propagated by their "pups" which are
baby plants that grow from the underground corm of the "mother"
plant.