CHAPTER SIXTEEN 



REPRODUCTION IN FLOWERING PLANTS: FLOWERS, FRUITS, 



AND SEEDS 



Fig. 119. 



The plants in flower have reached the reproductive pliase ot 

 their life. 



The development of roots, stems, and leaves makes up the 

 first period of the life of a flowering plant. These parts form 

 the vegetative body of the plant, and are all primarily con- 

 cerned, as we have seen, with the production, distribution, 

 and accumulation of food materials. The period of growth of 

 the vegetative parts and of activity in connection with the 

 food supply is the nutritive phase of the plant's life. 



The development of flowers, fruits, and seeds takes place 

 during the second phase of the plant's existence, the repro- 

 ductive phase. The foods that have previously accumulated 

 in various parts of the plant are, to a large extent, transferred ; 

 they are used in the building of the reproductive structures 



197 



