Pollination and Fertilisation — Revision notes

Pollination

Transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma

Fertilisation

The fusion of the nucleus of a male gamete with the nucleus of the ovum

Anther

The male part of the flower that pollen is transferred from

Stigma

The sticky tip of the female part of the flower, where pollen lands

Filament

The thin stalk that holds up the anther

Stamen

The anther and filament together

Gamete

A sex cell that holds half of the DNA needed to make a new plant

Ovum

The female gamete, found inside the ovary

Ovary

The part at the base of the flower that holds the ovum

Seed

What is made after fertilisation, the next generation ready to grow

Self-pollination

Pollen landing on the stigma of the same flower it came from

Cross-pollination

Pollen carried to a flower on a different plant of the same species

Variation

Differences between plants of the same species, such as petal colour

Nectar

The sugary drink that bees collect from flowers

Pollen tube

A tube grown by a pollen grain down the style towards the ovary

Style

The stalk that joins the stigma to the ovary

Ovule

The part inside the ovary that holds the ovum

Chromosomes

Bundles of DNA stored in the nucleus

Zygote

The new cell made when two gamete nuclei fuse, with a full set of chromosomes

Embryo

What the zygote grows and divides into, before developing inside a seed

Germination

When a seed starts to grow a root, a shoot and leaves

Seedling

A young plant that grows from a seed and keeps growing into a new plant

What this lesson covers

How well do you know each one? Be honest: red means go back over it.

• Describe pollination as the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaNot yetSort ofGot it
• Name the parts of the flower involved in pollination and fertilisationNot yetSort ofGot it
• Compare self-pollination with cross-pollinationNot yetSort ofGot it
• Explain why cross-pollination increases variation in a speciesNot yetSort ofGot it
• Give examples of how wind, water and animals carry pollenNot yetSort ofGot it
• Trace the journey from pollen landing on the stigma to a zygote becoming a new plantNot yetSort ofGot it

Test yourself

Cover the answer, say it out loud, then check the full quiz on the lesson page.

• Where must pollen land for pollination to happen?
• Which of these does NOT carry pollen between flowers?
• Pollen has just landed on a stigma. Has fertilisation happened yet?

Topic quiz

15 questions on this topic only — not mixed with anything else, one at a time.

Spelling challenge

Read the definition, then type the correct spelling of the term. Uses the same terms as above.