Life Cycles Today we will observe life cycles through a flower dissection…our goal is to see how the structure of the flower aids in the function of reproduction!

Basic Life Cycle of A Sexual Organism

Plants have sex too! Flower--Reproductive organ Perfect flowers have male and female parts Anther and Filament-- Male Stigma and ovary--female What are the petals for?

Do plants reproduce asexually too? Potatoes Why did this lead to the potato famine?

When is sex important? In times of stress Mixes up genes and comes up with new (maybe better) combinations!

What are we going to figure out today? What mechanisms plants have to ensure cross- pollination? –Timing –Structure of reproductive parts We will do this by –Looking at old and new flowers –Compare lengths of male and female parts