A plant’s life cycle refers to the series of steps it undergoes in order to reproduce and grow, similar to what occurs with bryophytes, fungi and algae.
Most plants begin as seeds that sprout into seedlings before eventually reaching maturity and producing flowers and fruits.
Seed
Seeds are miniature plants with roots, stems, and leaves that contain reproductive material in order to grow into new plants when conditions are right. Seeds serve as the characteristic reproductive body in both angiosperms (flowering plants) and gymnosperms (conifers, cycads).
Once a seed finds the optimal combination of water, soil and sunlight for its development into a new plant – known as germination – it begins the process of growing into something new.
At first, when a seed absorbs water it begins to swell as its coat breaks off, releasing stored food stored within its cotyledons into its embryo. Over time it grows larger and develops its first leaves before finally sprouting as an individual seedling with access to essential nutrients via roots as well as sunlight for photosynthesis.
As plants continue to mature, they produce flowers for reproduction. Flowers produce pollen that moves between stamens of one flower to pistils through pollination – pollen will then fall onto an ovule of fertilized flowers, which contains half the necessary chromosomes needed to create an entire plant. Once matured plants produce their own seeds that begin the cycle again; plants also produce fruit which becomes seeds that continue growing cycles until eventually, when their stem dies and falls off leaving behind its seeds to begin new ones. Eventually plants die and decay leaving behind its seeds so their cycle continues – repeating itself until death and decay once again!
Sprout
Germination is the initial phase in a plant’s lifecycle. All seeds have an outer coating called a hard shell; inside lies an embryo that requires water, oxygen and the right temperature in order to develop, or sprout. When these conditions are met, its embryo breaks through its hard shell known as the husk; roots start growing from it while stem formation ensues and eventually photosynthesis takes over as its source of food production.
To maintain moisture and avoid souring, sprouts need to be rinsed daily or twice per day depending on weather and seed type, at a frequency that fits with their duration – typically two or three times per day for best results. This process could last anywhere between days to several weeks.
After the sprout has developed into a seedling, it is known as a seedling. A seedling needs an abundance of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and magnesium from its soil environment for survival as well as plenty of sunlight and moisture for maximum energy conservation. Energy from its energy system goes towards developing thick roots systems as well as creating plumules to hold onto water more effectively for longer.
As soon as a seedling develops into a mature plant, it begins to flower. Flowers contain male and female parts called stamen and carpel. Stamen produce pollen that must reach the pistil to fertilize it. Pollination takes place when insects or birds move pollen from male parts to female parts and back again – which begins a new cycle! Once fertilized, seeds within flowers produce new plants and the process continues again.
Vegetative Growth
Seeds (or spores for non-flowering plants) contain everything needed to start a new plant from scratch, protected in an endosperm shell and with the potential to form another seed of their species. After being planted in the ground, these seeds germinate into seedlings that develop further until reaching maturity where pollination and seed production commences allowing their species to continue its lifecycle and reproduce more seeds for survival.
At its initial stages of growth, seedlings contain nutrient reserves in their cotyledons which they use to start off growth. As well as this source, sunlight also supplies crucial nourishment; photosynthesis provides essential energy that allows the plant to progress onto subsequent stages. It is vital that seedlings receive ample sunshine in order to stay alive.
At this stage of its growth cycle, plants become vegetative with strong roots, abundant leaves and branches and an expanding bloom cycle. At this stage of its development, the plant can also produce flowers which will trigger another life cycle. However, this stage can be extremely sensitive as overwatering or overfeeding could damage it badly; during this phase it’s also essential to prevent abiotic stress like drought and floods which could force its energy towards defense mechanisms rather than growth and reproduction limiting its full growth potential and reproduction capabilities.
Flowering
Flowering plants start as seeds that contain miniature embryos of their plant’s future growth and produce its food through photosynthesis. Seeds also come with protective casing that serves to shield and shield their embryo until conditions allow it to sprout and start producing its own food supply; this stage of germination.
Germination begins when cells in a floral meristem divide into four concentric groups of cells, and their genes begin to express themselves by becoming petals and sepals which comprise the calyx. Cells with genes activated at higher levels produce stamens – male reproductive organs of flowers; while an innermost whorl of cells creates carpels – female reproductive organs of flowers.
Flowers play an integral role in a plant’s life cycle as the center for reproduction. Male parts known as stamen produce pollen which must reach female parts known as stigma for fertilization to occur. This part of the stigma is sticky or hairy to attract pollen and trap it more effectively. Once fertilised, its ovary produces fruit containing seeds; some plants complete this cycle in days while for others it could take years. Certain plants can reproduce via asexual vegetative reproduction, enabling them to generate new plants without creating seeds. Such plants send out underground stems known as rhizomes which can grow into new plants that grow at distance from their parent.
Fruiting
At some point in their growth and development, plants reach a point in which they start producing flowers. When this happens, it opens the way for sexual reproduction – through pollination and fertilisation processes – which results in sexual reproduction occurring and producing fruit which contains seeds that germinate into new plants, continuing the cycle all over again.
Seed germination requires air, sunlight and optimal moisture conditions in order to begin. After taking in moisture through absorption of water and cracking or splitting open due to absorption by its shell, an embryo within expands rapidly into its host cell. When all conditions for germination have been fulfilled, a seed will sprout into a small sprout that then produces leaves to collect sunlight for photosynthesis – producing food through photosynthesis in turn.
As it develops, a sprout will produce roots capable of drawing nutrients and moisture from both its surroundings and from the atmosphere, helping it grow taller and become ready for maturity.
Plants also can reproduce through alternative means other than sexual reproduction; for instance daffodils and snowdrops produce bulbs which can sprout new plants away from their parent; tubers like potatoes have tuber buds which bloom the following year to produce tubers, creating another type of vegetative reproduction method.
Pollination
Plants are multicellular organisms that go through an alternation of generations. This life cycle is common to land plants, algae and fungi and occurs as both gametophytes (gametes with one set of chromosomes) and diploid asexual phases (sporophytes) alternate with one another in succession allowing reproduction both asexually and sexually.
As soon as a flower is ready to produce seeds, it will release pollen into its environment. When pollen reaches the female part of its flower containing an ovary and eventually produces seeds, pollen contains male gametes with half the normal number of chromosomes that fuse with female gametes resulting in fertilization; eventually this results in one cell that develops into an embryo inside an ovule.
Once an embryo matures, it forms a seed pod or fruit to distribute its seeds so they can germinate into new plants and begin the lifecycle again.
Bees and butterflies play an essential role in pollination processes for many plants, and coevolution – wherein a relationship between two organisms evolves over time – has allowed both to adapt accordingly, with plants developing traits to attract pollinators while pollinators developing body parts or habits to collect the pollen more efficiently – being one of the cornerstones of reproductive success for both species involved. It is one of the cornerstones of their survival as one step along their life cycles.