Instead, it depends on pollination. Pollination refers to the process where the male gametophyte, in the form of pollen, travels to the female gametophyte, in the form of the seed. The pollen can travel over a much greater distance than sperm. This ability to disperse is important and reduces the requirement for water. In saying this, it must be noted that when the male part is in the form of sperm, it requires water. This is partly because the sperm does not have any vascular tissue. This is also because the sperm's only form of movement is swimming, which clearly requires water. For terrestrial plants then, not having water is a major problem. Having a seed and pollen solves this problem and makes dispersal without water possible. Pollination then occurs when a pollen grain reaches a seed and passes through its micropyle, a tiny hole in the seed covering...
The male and female parts then meet and a new plant is produced. Most importantly, there is no requirement for water for this process to occur, making terrestrial plant life feasible.Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
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