Question

Write a note on androecium and gynoecium.

Answer 1

Androecium:

1. The third whorl of a flower is called the androecium.
   
2. Androecium, is made up of male reproductive units called stamens.
   
3. They produce sperm cells packaged inside pollen grains.
4. An androecium is usually made up of multiple stamina (plural of stamen); each is composed of two parts, the filament and the anther.

1. Filament: the long, thin stalk of a stamen

2. Anther:

the top of a stamen that produces pollen grains

Gynoecium:

1. The innermost whorl, called the gynoecium, has female reproductive units called carpels.
2. A gynoecium may contain a single carpel, many separate carpels, or many carpels that have fused together.

1. At the top of a carpel is a platform called the stigma.
   
2. It is sticky to catch pollen grains.
   
3. At the bottom of a carpel is a rounded structure called an ovary.
   
4. Connecting the stigma and ovary is a tube called a style.
   

Fertilization:

1. Pollen grains release sperm cells that travel down the style and into the ovary.
2. An ovary contains one or more ovules and inside an ovule is an egg cell.
   
3. When a sperm cell enters an ovary, it will fuse with the egg cell.
   
4. This is called fertilization, and the ovule is now called a seed.
   
5. The surrounding ovary will then usually develop into a fruit to protect its seeds.