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Primary Science · Year 5Chapter 3 · Reproduction in plants and animals
Year 5 Science · Reproduction in plants and animals · Lesson 3.2

Year 5 Science: Flowers, pollination and seeds

Part of the Year 5 Science reproduction in plants and animals chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

3.2

Flowers, pollination and seeds

Year 5
LH2: how flowering plants reproduce with seeds, including pollination, fertilisation and seed dispersal (a short recap of Year 3)
Story. Ruby sees a bee move from flower to flower in the school garden. “It is carrying something on its legs,” she says. Her teacher says: “That is pollen. It helps the flower to make seeds.”

The male part of a flower is the stamen. It makes pollen. The female part is the carpel, which holds the ovules.

Pollination is when pollen moves from a stamen to the stigma of another flower. Insects and the wind can carry pollen. After pollination, a pollen grain joins with an ovule. This is fertilisation, and the ovule grows into a seed.

Seeds are then spread away from the parent plant, which is called seed dispersal. The table gives examples.

stamen: makes pollencarpel: holds ovules(the female part)ovules become seedspetals: attract insects
A flower cut in half, showing petals, a stamen that makes pollen, and a carpel with ovules.
stamenstigmapollen moves from one flower to anotherseed forms
Pollen moves from the stamen of one flower to the stigma of another. A seed then forms.
FeatureInsect-pollinated flowerWind-pollinated flower
Petalslarge and brightsmall or none
Scentoften has a scentno scent
Nectarmakes sweet nectarno nectar
Pollensticky, heavy pollenlight, dry pollen that blows
Examplebluebell, buttercupgrass, hazel catkins
PlantHow the seed is spread
dandelionwind carries its fluffy seeds
coconutwater carries it along
burdock (burr)hooks stick to the fur of animals
pea podthe pod splits and throws the seeds away

Key ideas

  • The stamen makes pollen. The carpel holds the ovules.
  • Pollination is when pollen moves to the stigma of another flower.
  • Fertilisation happens when a pollen grain joins with an ovule, which then grows into a seed.
  • Seeds are spread by wind, water, animals, or by the pod splitting open.
Worked example 3.2.1
Which part of the flower makes pollen? Write the word.

Method. Find the part that makes pollen.

  1. Look at the flower. The stamen has an anther that makes pollen.
    anther
  2. Name the part. The part that makes pollen is the stamen.
    stamen
  3. Write the answer.
    stamen

Check. The stamen is the male part of the flower. ✓

Worked example 3.2.2
A dandelion seed is carried by the wind. Which kind of dispersal is this? Write the word.

Method. Read the dispersal table.

  1. Read the row for the dandelion. The dandelion row says wind carries its fluffy seeds.
    wind carries
  2. Name the kind of dispersal. So the seed is dispersed by wind.
    wind
  3. Write the answer.
    wind

Check. The seed has a parachute of fine hairs. ✓

Worked example 3.2.3
Look at the pollination table. Which flower is pollinated by wind, and has small petals or none? Write the example.

Method. Find the row about the example.

  1. Find the example row. The example row says bluebell, buttercup for insects, and grass, hazel catkins for wind.
    grass, hazel catkins
  2. Read the wind column. In the wind-pollinated column the example is grass and hazel catkins.
    grass, hazel catkins
  3. Write the answer.
    grass, hazel catkins

Check. Wind-pollinated flowers often have small or no petals. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: the pollen is not the seed. Pollination moves pollen to a flower, and fertilisation is what makes a seed grow from an ovule.

Try it (with your teacher or a grown-up). With a grown-up, look at flowers in the school garden. Do not pick any flowers, and never eat them. Watch a bee or a fly visit a flower, and draw the flower. Label the petals, and say whether the flower looks like an insect-pollinated flower or a wind-pollinated flower.

Exam tip

Grown-up tip. Ask: “Which part makes the pollen? Which part holds the ovules? Where does the seed come from?” Let your child name each part on the picture.

Exercise 3B  Flowers, pollination and seeds

1
FWhich part of a flower makes pollen? Write the word.
2
FWhich part of a flower holds the ovules? Write the word.
3
FWhat is the name for pollen moving from one flower to another? Write the word.
4
FWhat do we call a pollen grain joining with an ovule? Write the word.
5
FWhat does an ovule grow into, after fertilisation? Write the word.
6
FFill in the gap: the spreading of seeds away from the parent plant is called seed ___. Write one word.
7
FLook at the dispersal table in section 3.2. How is the coconut seed spread? Write the word: wind, water or animals.
8
FLook at the dispersal table in section 3.2. Which seed is spread by hooks that stick to the fur of animals? Write the name.
9
PSLook at the pollination table in section 3.2. Which flowers have large, bright petals and a scent? Write the word: insect or wind.
10
PSLook at the pollination table in section 3.2. Which kind of flower has light, dry pollen that blows in the wind? Write the word: insect or wind.
11
PSLook at the flower picture in section 3.2. Which part holds the ovules? Write the word.
stamen: makes pollencarpel: holds ovules(the female part)ovules become seedspetals: attract insects
12
RExplain why a flower needs pollination before it can make seeds. Write one sentence.

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