Editing Sex (section)

===Plants===
{{Main|Plant reproduction}}
[[File:Mature flower diagram.svg|thumb|left|Flowers contain the sexual organs of flowering plants. They are usually hermaphrodite, containing both male and female parts.]]
Like animals, [[land plants]] have specialized male and female gametes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Developmental Biology |vauthors=[[ Scott F. Gilbert | Gilbert SF]] |date=2000 |publisher=Sinauer Associates |isbn=978-0-87893-243-6 |edition=6th |location=Sunderland (MA) |chapter=Gamete Production in Angiosperms |access-date=17 April 2021 |chapter-url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10129/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421143911/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10129/ |archive-date=21 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Dusenbery-2009">{{cite book|url={{GBurl|id=QCrimQJu1RAC|q=living+at+micro+scale+reproduction|p=308}}|title=Living at Micro Scale: The Unexpected Physics of Being Small|vauthors=Dusenbery DB|date=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-03116-6|pages=308–326|language=en|author-link=David B. Dusenbery}}</ref> In [[Spermatophyte|seed plants]], male gametes are produced by reduced male [[gametophytes]] that are contained within [[pollen]] which have hard coats that protect the male gamete forming cells during transport from the [[Stamen|anther]]s to the [[Stigma (botany)|stigma]]. The female gametes of seed plants are contained within [[ovule]]s. Once fertilized, these form [[seed]]s which, like eggs, contain the nutrients necessary for the initial development of the embryonic plant.

{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Pinus nigra cone.jpg
 | image2 = Pine cones, immature male.jpg
 | footer = Female (left) and male (right) cones contain the sex organs of pines and other conifers.
}}
The [[flower]]s of [[flowering plant]]s contain their sexual organs. Most flowering plants are hermaphroditic, with both male and female parts in the same flower or on the same plant in single sex flowers, about 5% of plant species have individual plants that are one sex or the other.<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Wilton P | date = 12 March 2009 |title=Plants, sex & Darwin | work = OxSciBlog | publisher = University of Oxford |url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/science-blog/plants-sex-darwin |access-date=10 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref> The female parts, in the center of a hermaphroditic or female flower, are the [[pistils]], each unit consisting of a [[carpel]], a [[Style (botany)|style]] and a [[stigma (botany)|stigma]]. Two or more of these reproductive units may be merged to form a single compound [[pistil]], the fused carpels forming an [[Ovary (botany)|ovary]]. Within the carpels are [[ovules]] which develop into seeds after fertilization. The male parts of the flower are the [[stamen]]s: these consist of long filaments arranged between the pistil and the petals that produce pollen in [[Glossary of botanical terms#anther|anthers]] at their tips. When a pollen grain lands upon the stigma on top of a carpel's style, it germinates to produce a [[pollen tube]] that grows down through the tissues of the style into the carpel, where it delivers male gamete nuclei to fertilize an ovule that eventually develops into a seed.

Some hermaphroditic plants are self-fertile, but plants have evolved multiple different [[self-incompatibility]] mechanisms to avoid self-fertilization, involving [[sequential hermaphroditism]], molecular recognition systems and morphological mechanisms such as [[heterostyly]].<ref name="Judd-2002">{{cite book | vauthors =  Judd WS, Campbell CS, Kellogg EA, Stevens PF, Donoghue MJ |author-link1=Walter Stephen Judd |author-link3=Elizabeth Anne Kellogg |author-link4=Peter F. Stevens |author-link5=Michael Donoghue |title=Plant systematics, a phylogenetic approach  |date=2002 |publisher=Sinauer Associates Inc. |isbn=0-87893-403-0 |edition=2nd |location=Sunderland MA}}</ref>{{rp|73, 74}}

In [[pine]]s and other [[conifer]]s, the sex organs are produced within [[conifer cone|cones]] that have male and female forms. Male cones are smaller than female ones and produce pollen, which is transported by wind to land in female cones. The larger and longer-lived female cones are typically more durable, and contain ovules within them that develop into seeds after fertilization.

Because [[Spermatophyte|seed plants]] are immobile, they depend upon passive methods for transporting pollen grains to other plants. Many, including conifers and grasses, produce lightweight pollen which is carried by wind to neighboring plants. Some flowering plants have heavier, sticky pollen that is specialized for transportation by insects or larger animals such as [[hummingbird]]s and [[bat]]s, which may be attracted to flowers containing rewards of nectar and pollen. These animals transport the pollen as they move to other flowers, which also contain female reproductive organs, resulting in [[pollination]].