Reproduction

Chondrodendron tomentosum undergoes sexual reproduction like other flowering plants. It is a dioecious plant, meaning it has male and female flowers. The plant produces sperm, which is what most of us call pollen, and is distributed by wind and animals to other plants. The sperm then has to unite with an egg inside the stigma of the plant. A seed is produced from the fertilized egg, and this then germinates once in the ground. The germinating seed then continues to grow into the adult plant and the process repeats itself. The diagram below shows the cycle. The ovary of the Chondrodendron tomentosum is quite underdeveloped compared to the other flowering plants.  It is a primitive plant with the other Ranunculales plants.

File:Angiosperm lifecycle.png
Picture provided by LadyofHats on Wikimedia Commons.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Angiosperm_life_cycle_diagram.svg





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