A lifecycle describes how a living thing starts its life, grows to maturity, reproduces, and restarts the cycle. All living things including plants follow a specific lifecycle which keeps their species alive.
What is the Plant Life Cycle?
Plants are living things, they grow and reproduce like any other living thing. They also follow a cyclic process in various stages like starting a new life, growing, and then coming back to the starting stage (reproducing). Plants start their life from seed and grow up to become mature plants.
Stages of Plant’s Life Cycle
Most of the plants start their life as seeds. These seeds are buried in the ground by various methods, where they germinate. After germination, the first leaves of plants, known as seedlings, emerge. After that, further growth of the plants begins until they reach maturity. At this stage, plants pollinate and produce seeds so that their species continue to survive by restarting the life cycle.
The life cycle of plants can be broken down into 3, 4, and 5 stages. But the most widely accepted model has 5 stages.
- Seed
- Germination and Seedling
- Growing to Maturity
- Reproductive Stage
- Seed Dispersion
Seed – 1st Stage
Seeds are the embryos of plants that contain the necessary food for early development. They are housed in a tough outer coating for protection until conditions are just right for germination.
These seeds are dispersed across the land in many ways, such as moving water, wind, animals, and human activity. When seeds reach a suitable environment with adequate moisture levels and the right temperature, they germinate and start their lifecycle.
Germination and Seedling – 2nd Stage
After the germination, a seed breaks its outer coating and grows the first Roots and leaves, known as cotyledons. Once initial structures from the seed come out of the soil, it is called a seedling.
At this stage, the roots begin to absorb water from the Soil, while the leaves start photosynthesis for food production. The seedling continues further development and forms plumules. These plumules are early stems from which new leaves develop.
Growing to Maturity – 3rd Stage
The seedling growth continues until the plant reaches full maturity. The plant needs many necessary things for healthy growth such as water, nutrient-rich soil, air, sunlight, the right temperature, and adequate spacing from other plants. (For details check How Plants Grow?).
When plants mature, they develop stronger roots and a large number of branches and leaves. At this stage, they are ready to enter the reproductive stage to make flowers and new seeds.
Reproductive Stage – 4th Stage
When plants mature, they produce flowers from modified shoots known as determinate Apical Meristem. A typical flower is composed of the following reproductive parts:
- Stamen (Male Parts): Produces the pollen (a powdery substance) required for the fertilization of the pistil.
- Pistil (Female Parts): Produces seeds after fertilization
When the pollen from the stamen reaches the pistil, fertilization happens and seeds are produced in the process.
Seed Dispersion – 5th Stage
After seeds are produced, the plants must disperse their seeds to favorable places where they can germinate and begin a new life cycle. There are several methods for seed dispersion:
- Wind: Strong blows of wind pick the seeds from the plants and carry them away. Moreover, light seeds with fibers glide in the air and reach distant places.
- Water: When seeds of plants fall into the river, they are carried away to distant places.
- Animals: Fruits of plants are eaten by animals that contain seeds. Later on, animals excrete the seeds at different locations.
Pollination Methods
The process of pollination in which pollen reaches the pistil from the stamen happens through several methods:
- Insect Pollination: insects visit the flowers to drink sweet nectar. They move from flower to flower and unknowingly transfer pollen from the stamens to the pistils.
- Wind Pollination: Many plants have male and female parts separated by a large distance. The wind plays a crucial role in carrying pollen from the stamen to the pistil during strong blows.
- Animal Pollination: Animals, including birds and land animals, play a role similar to insects. They also visit the plants for food and carry the pollen that sticks to their bodies. They transfer pollen from the stamens to the pistils while moving between plants and their flower.
What about Seedless Plants?
Many plants don’t produce flowers or seeds for reproduction. Instead, they grow from the spores of their parent plants. Spores can be parts of a plant or the remains of a dead plant. New plants are produced from the spores and continue to grow.
SeeNon-Flowering plantsfor further information.
FAQs
What is Self-Pollination and Cross-Pollination?
In self-pollination, the pollen from the anther reaches the stigma in the same flower, or a different flower in the same plant. However, cross-pollination is a bit different. It happens when the pollen from the anther of one plant reaches the stigma of another plant’s flower having the same species. Both of these processes can happen naturally as well as artificially.
What is the Asexual Reproduction of Plants?
The plants which grow without fertilization are called asexually reproduced plants. Asexual reproduction can occur from fragmentation, spores, budding, and vegetative propagation. Potatoes are a famous example of the asexual reproduction of plants.
What is the Alternation of Generations?
The life cycle of plants is divided into two main phases; the haploid and the diploid. These two phases of the plant lifecycle can also alternate and this process is called the alternation of generations.
The alternation of generations is the primary type of lifecycle in plants. In this lifecycle, the haploid sexual phase (gametophytes) which consists of only a single set of chromosomes turns into a diploid asexual phase (sporophytes) which contains two sets of chromosomes. Both haploid and diploid are multicellular and their cells split by meiosis and mitosis process of cell division respectively. This alternation of generation is not only common in plants but also found in algae and Fungi.
Interesting Facts
- Great Basin bristlecone pine is the longest-living plant found in the world. Its age is measured to be around 5,056 years.
- Coco de Mer is the seed of a palm tree, it can weigh about 18 Kg (40 pounds) and reach a height of 12 feet.
- Rose, Jasmine, and Lily are the strongest-smelling flowers.
- When a seed is not germinating, it is in a dormant state. In this stage, it is no more than dead stuff.
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