Chapter 27 - Introduction

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To fully appreciate this tutorial, you should be familiar with the concepts of:
• Alternation of generations
• Haploid and diploid

After this tutorial, you will be able to describe:
• The significance of pollen production
• The significance of seed production
• The structures of pollen production and seed production in both gymnosperms and angiosperms

What makes seed plants so successful?

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Gymnosperms and cones
Seed cones
Flowering plants
Summary

Seed plant diversity is evidence of significant evolutionary advances. Pollen and seeds are two structures that have contributed to the success of seed-bearing plants. Pollen provides for fertilization without the need for water as a transport medium, and seeds provide a mechanism for dispersal of the embryonic sporophyte. Variation in pollen-producing structures and in seed formation separates the gymnosperms and angiosperms. Specialization of structures by angiosperms (flowering plants) has led to their dominance in the plant world.