Question

There are 10 flowers in one individual plant of Crotalaria. In each microsporangium of every stamen of all the flowers, there are 30 microspore mother cells. How many pollen grains are formed from the plant?

• A. 4,000
• B. 10,000
• C. 24,000
• D. 48,000

Answer 1

The correct option is D 48,000

Crotalaria is a member of Papilionaceae, in which 10 stamens are present in flower. Each stamen has 4 microsporangia (i.e., 10x4= 40), in which microspore mother cells are found. Each microspore mother cell gives rise to a pollen tetrad (i.e., 40x4= 160). So, for 1 flower having 30 microsporangia it would be 160x30= 4800 pollen grains. Thus, if we have to calculate for 10 flowers then it would be 4800x10 = 48000 pollen grains.

So, the correct answer is '48,000'