CHAPTER XIV 



FLOWERS: POLLENATION AND FERTILIZATION 



Vocabulary 



Pollenation, transference of pollen from anther to stigma. 

 Fertilization, union of sperm nucleus and ovule nucleus to form 



the embryo. 



Conspicuous, noticeable. 



Glands, organs for secretion of any liquid, as nectar glands. 

 Nectar, a sweet liquid secreted by plants to attract insects. Bees 



make it into honey; plants do not secrete honey. 

 Learn names of flower parts from the text. 



If we refer to the list of life functions it will be seen that we 

 have dealt with all of them except reproduction. All the others 

 have had to do with the life of one individual plant, its food getting, 

 energy production, or waste removal. Now we have to do with a 

 function as important as all the rest, the propagation of new 

 individuals. 



The Function of the Flower. In most of the common plants 

 the flower is the organ whose function is reproduction, and, while 

 there are other methods, we shall deal with the commonest one 

 first, since it is found in at least 130,000 different kinds of plants. 



The final product of the flower is the seed. To produce the 

 seed, fertilization must take place and to cause fertilization, pol- 

 lenation must precede it. While these terms will be made plain 

 later, we can remember that the flower is provided with means 

 for securing pollenation, fertilization, and seed production. 



Structure of the Flower. We will take for an example the ge- 

 ranium, either a " single " flowered house species or the common 

 wild geranium, which though different as to genus, is still suffi- 

 ciently similar for our purpose. As we look at the flower from 

 the rear, or stem side, we will see a row of small green, leaf-like 



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