Allogamy

Abstract

In this chapter we shall turn our attention to the flower. We shall look into some of the structures and functions of the anther and the male gametophyte as well as of the ovule and the female gametophyte. We shall concentrate on those features which will help in a better understanding of sex expressi on, self-incompatibility and male sterility. For more information and references, the reader should consult such specialized texts and reviews as those of Maheshwari (1950) and Heslop-Harrison (1972 and 1975). Sexuality, reproduction and alternation of generation in plants were treated thoroughly by several authors in volume 18 of the Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology (Ruhland, 1967). We shall handle only angiosperms in the first four sections of this chapter. The gymnosperms will be represented by the conifers, which comprise many economically important forest trees. A brief description of the sexual reproduction of the conifers will be given in the last section of this chapter.