Do Plants Have Sexes?

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She has her M.S....</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Melissa Petruzzello</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div></div> </div> <article class="topic-content content mt-20"><figure class="md-assembly md-feature-assembly print-false" data-type="1" data-descid="1"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/194588-050-967E8D17/flowers.jpg" target="_blank" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center " data-href="*"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/194588-050-967E8D17/flowers.jpg?w=600&q=60" alt="Roses flowers plant colorful rose" data-width="1600" data-height="1067" loading="eager"><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class=""><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><cite class="credit d-block mt-5">© neirfy/Fotolia</cite></figcaption></figure><p class="topic-paragraph">The idea of “male” and “female” in plants is a bit mysterious to many people, and there are several variations on the theme throughout the plant kingdom. In plants, as with most animals, the male parts are associated with production of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sperm" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sperm</a>, and the female parts are associated with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/egg-biology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">eggs</a>. Thus, in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/angiosperm" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">angiosperms</a> (flowering plants) and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/gymnosperm" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">gymnosperms</a> (plants with “naked seeds”), the male structures produce <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/pollen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">pollen</a> (which contain sperm), and the female structures have one or more <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ovary-plant" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ovaries</a> (which contain eggs known as ovules). We’ll skip over <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/spore-biology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">spore</a>-producing plants, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/fern" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ferns</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/liverwort" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">liverworts</a>, because their life cycles are more complicated, but they too have male and female parts.</p><span class="MOD1"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong>Some plants are indeed only male or only female.</strong><a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/ginkgo-tree" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ginkgo</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/kiwi-fruit" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">kiwi</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/hemp" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">cannabis</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/willow" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">willow</a> all have individuals that make only pollen or only seeds. Botanically, they are known as dioecious plants, and their strategy ensures genetic outcrossing. Interestingly, many street trees are dioecious, and, to avoid the mess of flowers and fruits, only male trees were often planted. Unfortunately, this proved to be somewhat of a failure in urban planning, as pollen <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/allergy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">allergies</a> have worsened in some places, thanks to the high density of male trees happily producing pollen. </p><span class="MOD2"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong>However, most plants are monoecious, meaning that individuals have both female and male structures.</strong> In flowering plants, these structures can be borne together in a single bisexual <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/flower" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">flower</a>, or the flowers can be only male (staminate) or only female (pistillate). Many of the most iconic flowers, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/rose-plant" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">roses</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/lily" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">lilies</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/tulip" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">tulips</a>, are bisexual, and the female <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/pistil" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">pistil</a> is characteristically surrounded by the male <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/stamen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">stamens</a>. Other monoecious plants, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/squash" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">squashes</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/corn-plant" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">corn</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/birch" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">birches</a>, have unisexual flowers. That is, some flowers are male and some are female, but both types are formed on the same individual plant. This strategy is also seen in most <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/conifer" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">conifers</a>. Pollen borne in male <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/cone-plant-anatomy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">cones</a> must be blown by the wind to female cones for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/pollination" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">pollination</a> to occur. </p><span class="MOD3"></span><span class="AM-END-OF-ARTICLE am-inline"></span></article> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="cm-rightrail d-none d-md-block ad-rail"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col"> <div class="md-loading hidden display-4 font-weight-normal"></div> <div class="text-center my-20 mb-100"> <button class="md-infinite-load-next btn btn-blue" data-value="next-page">Load More</button> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-da-320 hidden-xs"> </div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Story","templateName":"DEMYSTIFIED","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":11,"pageId":6210,"pageLength":null,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/story-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Story","pageSubtype":"DEMYSTIFIED","articleTemplateType":null,"gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Do Plants Have Sexes? | Britannica