ovule
Sign in to savethumb|Location of ovules inside a Helleborus foetidus flower
AI overview
An ovule is the structure inside a flower that contains the female reproductive cells and eventually develops into a seed after fertilization. Ovules are essential to plant reproduction because they're what transform into seeds, which allow plants to spread and create new generations.
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Article
11 sectionsContents
- Location within the plant
- Parts and development
- Integuments, micropyle, chalaza and hilum
- Nucellus, megaspore and perisperm
- Megagametophyte
- Zygote, embryo and endosperm
- Types of gametophytes
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
thumb|Location of ovules inside a Helleborus foetidus flower
In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the integument, forming its outer layer, the nucellus (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the female gametophyte (formed from a haploid megaspore) in its center. The female gametophyte — specifically termed a megagametophyte — is also called the embryo sac in angiosperms. The megagametophyte produces an egg cell for the purpose of fertilization. The ovule is a small structure present in the ovary. It is attached to the placenta by a stalk called a funicle. The funicle provides nourishment to the ovule. On the basis of the relative position of micropyle, body of the ovule, chalaza and funicle, there are six types of ovules.