What is double fertilisation? Why is it unique to flowering plants? What are the products of double fertilisation?

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DOUBLE FERTILISATION: A unique process found ONLY in ANGIOSPERMS (flowering plants). It involves TWO separate acts of fusion, both occurring in the ovule. PROCESS: After pollination, a pollen grain germinates on the stigma and forms a POLLEN TUBE that grows through the style into the ovule. Two MALE GAMETES travel down the pollen tube: (1) FIRST FUSION: Male gamete 1 + EGG CELL → ZYGOTE (2n). The zygote develops into the EMBRYO of the seed. (2) SECOND FUSION: Male gamete 2 + TWO POLAR NUCLEI → PRIMARY ENDOSPERM NUCLEUS (3n, triploid). This develops into the ENDOSPERM — a food-storage tissue that nourishes the embryo during germination. WHY 'DOUBLE': Because fertilisation happens TWICE — once to form the embryo, once to form the endosperm. SIGNIFICANCE: The endosperm provides the nutritional reserve for the germinating seed. This is why seeds like rice, wheat, and corn are nutritious — their endosperm feeds us. Double fertilisation is absent in gymnosperms (conifers) and all non-seed plants.

Practice — Reproduction — Asexual and Sexual

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