Angiosperm Life Cycle- Flowers, fruits and seeds

Introduction

Angiosperms are the most successful group of plants on earth today. Commonly called the seed
plants, all angiosperms are characterized by flowers, fruits and seeds.

Like all other land plants, life cycle of Angiosperms exhibits” Alternation of generations”.
Alternation of generation is characterized by a diploid sporophyte generation alternating with a
haploid gametophytic generation. The dominant phase in angiosperms is the diploid Sporophyte
(Plant body). The sporophyte bears the structures that give rise to the gametophytic phase (the
flower). Much of the success of these plants can be attributed to the lifecycle of angiosperms
and the critical innovations like flower, fruit and seeds.

Objectives

1. Identify the parts and functions of a typical angiosperm flower.

2. Describe the life cycle of an angiosperm.

3. Identify the different types of fruits.

Materials (Please collect them before you start this activity)

 Flower – Lily or Hibiscus or snapdragon

 White paper (to lay the parts of the flower)
 Fruits/vegetables with seeds from your refrigerator

Part A: Flower
Flower is the reproductive organ of an Angiosperm. A flower is a modified shoot that is borne on
the sporophyte (Plant body). A flower bears highly modified sporophylls in four whorls. There is
a wide variation in the structure of the flower in its shape, color, scent, presence or absence of all
structures etc.

A typical flower consists of the outermost whorl, the Calyx, which is made up of sepals - small
green structures that protect the immature inner parts (in a bud). The second whorl the Corolla
consists of brightly colored petals. They serve to attract pollinators. The petals may vary in
shape, size, and color based on the mode of pollination. The calyx and the corolla together make
up the non-essential organs of the flower. In some flowers the calyx and corolla look alike, In
this case they are called the Tepals – example Lily.

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The essential organs are made up of the male reproduction organs also known as the stamen.
The stamens are composed of the stalk called the filament which bears the anther. The anthers
bear microsporangium which bears the pollen grains (microspores). The microspores are formed
as a result of meiosis. They give rise to the male gameotophyte (haploid generation) which bears
the male gametes or the sperm.

The inner most whorl of the flower is composed of the female reproductive structure – one or
more carpels or the pistil. The carpel is made the sticky tip called the stigma. The pollen grains
land on the stigma and germinate to allow the pollen tube carrying the sperms through the tube
like structure called the style and reach the lower most swollen part of the carpel the ovary. The
ovary contains the female gametophyte that contains the ovules (megasporangium) that bears the
female gametophyte the embryosac. The egg (female gamete) is contained within the embryosac.

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Activity 1

Material needed – A flower of Lily or Hibiscus.

1. Draw a picture of the complete flower.

2. Carefully remove the outermost whorl of the flower and lay then on a white paper.

a. What did you just separate? The calyx

b. What is the function of this whorl? To protect the immature internal parts.

3. Carefully separate the next whorl (2nd from the outside) and lay then on the white paper.

a. What is distinct about this whorl? This is made up of bright color petals.

b. What do you think is the function of these structures? To attract pollinators.

c. If a flower were to be pollinated by wind, what would you think the appearance of this whorl
would be? Wide open petals so that the wind can pollinate the flower.

4. Separate the next whorl and set them on the paper.

a. what is the stalk of this structure called the filament.

b. Does this part belong to the male reproductive structure or the female reproductive structure?
The male.

c. The anthers bear the pollen.

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 5. Finally set the inner most part of the flower on the white paper. Identify the three parts of this
structure.

6. Label all the parts of the flower on the white paper and take a picture. (You will copy the
picture on to your worksheet)

7. Can you determine if your flower is a monocot or a dicot? Use your text book for that
information. Please insert the labeled picture here! (Please note, plagiarism will not be tolerated

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Part B- Life cycle of an Angiosperm

As we discussed in the previous section, the flower bears the male gametophyte in the anther and
female gametophyte in the ovary. The male gametophyte (haploid) in the pollen grain bears the
male gametes – two sperms that are carried by the pollen tube to the female gametophyte which
is contained in the ovule. The female gametophyte is the haploid structure which bears the egg.
The sperm travel down the style and reaches the embryosac to fertilize the egg. A zygote results
when one of the two sperms fertilizes the egg resulting in the first diploid cell. The other sperm
fertilizes two polar nuclei at the center of the embryosac to make a triploid tissue called the
endosperm. Fertilization of egg and polar nuclei by two sperms is very typical to angiosperms –
It is called double fertilization. This results in the zygote which develops into the embryo and
endosperm which is the only triploid tissue which nourishes the developing embryo.

Activity 2

Answer the following questions using the information above. Please use your textbook for
additional information (sec 22.2)

1. The parts of the flower involved in reproduction are stamen and carpel.

2. The anthers bear the microsporangium; the microspore mother cells give rise to
macrogametophyte or pollen grains after meiotic cell division.

3. The microspores undergo mitosis to produce the male gametophyte. It undergoes mitotic
division to form two cells, the tube cell and the generative cell ;

4. The sperms are borne within the anther of the male gametophyte.

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5. The ovule or the megasproangium bears the megaspore mother cell. After meiotic division one
megaspore develops to form the female gametophyte or the megagametophyte.

6. The nucleus of the embryosac undergoes repeated mitotic divisions to form a haploid egg
surrounded by synergids. The two nuclei in the center of the embryosac are called the pollard
nuclei.

7. After a pollen tube lands on the stigma, it passes through the style eventually reaching the
ovule within the ovary. The pollen tube thus takes two sperms to the embryo sac.

8. Double fertilization in angiosperms is a major innovation. During double fertilization one

sperm fertilizes the egg forming the diploid zygote. The other sperm fertilizes the two polar
nuclei forming the triploid nucleus.

9. Following fertilization the ovary develops into the fruit, the ovule becomes the seed, the
zygote develops into the diploid zygote -and the triploid nucleus become the endosperm.

10. Thus the angiosperm life cycle alternates between the diploid sporophyte generation and the
haploid gametophytic generation.

Part C: Fruit

After fertilization is complete, the ovary develops to form the fruit while the flower parts like
stamen, carpels, and petals wither away. Sometimes other flower parts such as the receptacle also
make up the fruit. The ovules become the seeds bearing the young embryo which eventually
develops into the sporophyte (plant)

Fruits can be simple or compound -

A. Simple fruits – Derived from a single ovary that can have one or more chambers. Some
examples of simple fruits are cherries, grapes, tomatoes (table 22.1)
B. Aggregate fruits -one flower with many ovaries; Example Strawberry with many multiple
ovaries making a whole fruit

C. Multiple fruits – many flowers produce fruitlets which fuse to make a single fruit; Example
Pineapple

Based on texture fruits are divided into fleshy fruits and dry fruits. All the fruits listed above are
examples of fleshy fruits.

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Activity 3

1. List three examples of simple fruits? Try to use the fruits/vegetables from your fridge to
classify. Use text book or other resources for identification. Include a picture of the fruit in the
worksheet. Pepper, tomato and coconut.

2. List one example of an aggregate fruit. Include a picture of the fruit. (Remember a fruit is a
mature ovary, you might consider different fruits/vegetables for your lab) Strawberry

3. List one example of a multiple fruit. Include a picture of the fruit. Pineapple

4. List two main functions of fruits? (Refer to your textbook sec 22.2) The fruit protects and
disperse seeds.

5. Please attach the picture of the fruits here.

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