What is the reproduction of conifers?
The two main forms of reproduction in flowering plants and conifers are sexual by means of seeds and asexual by means of separating and rooting part of a plant, cloning the mother plant.
How do conifers reproduce sexually?
The pollen and seed-bearing cones of a pine tree are analogous to the sexual organs of a flower. Even though the life cycle of a gymnosperm and a flowering plant are very different, both types reproduce sexually through the fusion of haploid gametes.
How many generations are included in a mature pine seed?
Fertilization and seed development is a long process in pine trees: it may take up to two years after pollination. The seed that is formed contains three generations of tissues: the seed coat that originates from the sporophyte tissue, the gametophyte tissue that will provide nutrients, and the embryo itself.
What is the dominant generation in Conifer?
Overview. Gymnosperms are vascular plants that produce seeds in cones. Examples include conifers such as pine and spruce trees. The gymnosperm life cycle has a dominant sporophyte generation.
How do conifers pollinate?
All conifers are pollinated by wind. Pollen may be produced in enormous quantities, particularly by species of true pine (Pinus), which can blanket the surface of nearby lakes and ponds with a yellow scum of pollen (the pollen can cause allergies in humans).
What does the male conifer reproduce?
The Process of Coniferous Plant Reproduction Coniferous plants include some male cones that have pollen and some female cones that contain the ova. Once the pollen enters the female cones, seeds begin to form. The seeds continue to mature, and once they are complete the cones open and the seeds begin to spread.
What does the male cone of conifers reproduce?
Male cones give rise to microspores, which produce pollen grains, while female cones give rise to megaspores, which produce ovules. Once the ovule is fertilized, a diploid sporophyte is produced, which gives rise to the embryo enclosed in a seed coat of tissue from the parent plant.
What must happen before a conifer is pollinated?
All conifers are pollinated by wind. The pollen grains of many Pinaceae and Podocarpaceae have air bladders, which orient them in a pollination droplet exuded by the ovules so that, when the droplet is withdrawn back into the ovule, the pollen tube will penetrate the nucellus to the archegonium. …
How many years does it take for the conifer seeds to develop?
Fertilization and seed development is a long process in pine trees: it may take up to two years after pollination. The seed that is formed contains three generations of tissues: the seed coat that originates from the sporophyte tissue, the gametophyte that will provide nutrients, and the embryo itself.
Is Strobilus a sporophyte or gametophyte?
Strobilus is the spore bearing structure so it is the sporophyte generation. It is present in many species of terrestrial plants and it consists of sporangia. It is also commonly called as cone. The male strobilus consists of microsporophylls that bear microsporangia and produce microspores through meiosis.
Do conifers self pollinate?
The timing of pollen release is different than the time that the seed cones are receptive to the pollen. Some conifers are dioecious. That is, they produce pollen cones and seed cones on separate trees. Self-pollination is impossible on these trees.
What is the primary pollinator of conifer?
How does a male coniferous tree reproduce sexually?
Coniferous trees reproduce sexually by following the standard pollen-fertilizes-ovum process. Now, based upon gender, conifers can be monoecious as well as dioecious. A conifer (or any other seed producing plant for that matter) is said to be monoecious when both male as well as female reproductive units are present on the same plant.
What are the mechanisms of vegetative reproduction in conifers?
Vegetative reproduction is the capacity of a woody plant to replicate itself as a genetically identical but physically separate plant. Such replicates may remain physically connected to the parent plant but the connection is not obligate. The mechanisms of vegetative reproduction in conifers include layering, epicormic buds, and root suckers.
Where does fertilization take place in a conifer?
On reaching the female cones, the pollen grains let down fine, tubular structures, known as pollen tubes, which reach the inner recesses of the female cone that contain the female reproductive cells (gametes); Male gametes travel via the pollen tube to reach the female gametes and fertilization takes place;
Can a conifer be both dioecious and monoecious?
Now, based upon gender, conifers can be monoecious as well as dioecious. A conifer (or any other seed producing plant for that matter) is said to be monoecious when both male as well as female reproductive units are present on the same plant.