Joshua Post 7

Angiosperms are types of plants that have flower structures on them. Flowers are the special, delicate structures for reproduction. The reproduction of angiosperms is known as sexual. This is because they contain the male parts that make pollen and the female parts that make ovules. The male part is known as the stamen, which has something called an anther at the end of it. The female part is known as the pistil, which also has the stigma at the end of it. Angiosperms must go through a process known as pollination before they can reproduce. Angiosperm pollination can be self-pollination, where it pollinates itself, and cross-pollination, where a vector transports pollen from one plant which fertilizes another. During pollination, the pollen from the male part of the flower known as the anther has to be taken to the end of the female stigma. The stigma then carries the pollen down in a tube known as the style, so it can reach the ovary. Once the pollen reaches ovule, it can fertilize a female gamete. After the gamete has been fertilized, an embryo is formed and the growing ovule begins to grow into a seed. The seed is then dispersed in many different ways, ensuring the reproduction and survival of the plant species. 

Here, we see an intact Brassica Oleracea flower. None of the flowers parts have been ripped off of it yet and it remains as it would in the wild. Here, we can see the stamens and the anthers. Along with that we can see the petals of the flowers and the pistil, which is the female part of the flower. 

Here, we are seeing the plant under a dissection microscope. We clearly see the pistil and stigma, which are part of the female reproductive system. We also see the stamens and the anthers which are a part of the male reproductive system. When a plant has both the female and the male reproductive systems, it is known as perfect. In some species, they are on different flowers, and even on different plants. In this case,  the pollen would have to reach the female system by transportation through vectors or the wind.  In this photograph, the petals of this Brassica Oleracea have been completely removed to expose the reproductive systems. 

In this photograph, we are looking at the female reproductive sections of this plant. The stamens and anthers have been ripped off. We see the pistil, which has some visible pollen on the stigma. In reproduction, the pollen on the stigma would be taken down to the ovary through the style where it would fertilize a female gamete and form a seed. The pollen can adhere to the stigma, which is a way of catching pollen that is flying by fast in the wind. 

Here, we are looking at the male reproductive parts of the Brassica Oleracea. This part is made up of the stamens and the anthers. The anthers are the tiny things at the tip of the stamens that contain pollen on them. This pollen is the pollen that is used to fertilize the female gametes and form a seed. Often times, pollen has to be carried through vectors or by the wind to fertilize far flowers. This would be the case with cross-pollinating plants. Self-pollinating plants contain both male and female reproductive systems. 

This is a close up of pollen from the Brassica Oleracea that we have been looking at. We are seeing these particles under a compound light microscope under magnification 100x. These little particles are those that fertilize the female gametes which results in a seed. These seeds are then dispersed which ensures the reproduction and survival of the species.