body. If he then flies toanotherflowerofthe same kind, he willtransfersome
ofthe pollen to it. This process is calledpollination.
The pollen grains stick to thetop-ofthe pistil. Each pollen graincontains
a male cell. The male cell passes down a tube in the pistil until it reaches an
ovule (the female egg cell). The male cell combines with the female cell, resulting
in afertilizedegg. Now the egg is capableofbecoming a new sweet peaplant.
Each fertilized egg or ovule now becomes a seed. In the caseofthe sweet
pea, the seed is a green pea. As the seeds grow, the ovary of the flower becomes
increasingly larger until, finally, the enlarged ovary in the pea flower becomes
a pea pod,containingpea seeds.
All flowerscontainthereproductiveorgansoftheplant,usuallysurrounded
byprotectivepetals and sepals. Ifyou examine a gladiolus, an apple blossom
or ageranium,you will find the samepartsas in the sweet pea, but they will
bearrangeda little differently.
EXAMINING SEED PODS- "DRY" FRUIT
Materials:Get whole string beans and green pea pods from the vegetable
store.
Follow thisprocedure:Examine theunopenedpods ofthe green pea and
the string bean. With your fingernail split the pods open down thebottom
division or"seam."
You will observe:The"dry"fruits whichcontainthe seedsofthe pea and
stringbean plants. The pea seeds and bean seeds are attachedto the pods
by a tiny stem-likepart.» ( )/If! If
~ //;.-'-~
~;?-?//;:<-:///:///:7/./'///'/?C"/Althoughyou would never include pea podsandstring beans in afruit
bowl, eachofthese is actually thefruitoftheplant. Eachcontainsseedsthat
can beplantedtoproducea new sweet pea or string beanplant.