Plant reproduction may be sexual, in which two parents produce a genetically different individual; or asexual, involving the propagation of plants that are genetically identical to the parent.

Sexual reproduction in plants involves the fusion of two haploid gametes (or microspores; each has one set of chromosomes, signified as 1n, as a result of meiosis, or reduction division). The "male" gametes are found in pollen, which is produced by the anthers of plant flowers. The "female" gametes are contained within ovules, which are in the ovary of the pistil of plant flowers. Pollination is the process whereby pollen is transferred to the stigma of the pistil. This can occur by pollen dispersed into the atmosphere, or transferred by a pollinating insect, such as a bee or moth. The pollen germinates on the stigma and grows pollen tubes which penetrate through the style and into the ovary...