7: Meristems and Flowers
- Page ID
- 93170
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- Understand the meristems of primary and secondary growth and the specialized tissues they produce.
- Understand flower morphology and how sexual reproduction via pollination occurs.
Plants have meristematic cells that are not differentiated, but that are destined to divide and produce other cells that may also divide, elongate, and differentiate into specialized cells and tissues. This process is called growth. A highly specialized structure produced after the transition from a vegetative meristem to a reproductive meristem is called a flower. Floral organs are arranged in concentric circles or whorls and are the site of sexual reproduction.
Thumbnail: Cross section of trunk. Dpaczesniak. CC BY-SA 4.0.