After fertilisation, the ovule becomes the seed and the ovary becomes the fruit. Inside the seed, the zygote grows into the embryo, and the endosperm may store food for it.
This lesson closes flowering-plant reproduction. It builds on double fertilisation.
What does each part become?
| Before fertilisation | After fertilisation |
|---|---|
| Zygote | Embryo |
| Endosperm nucleus | Endosperm (food store) |
| Ovule wall | Seed coat (testa) |
| Ovule | Seed |
| Ovary | Fruit |
| Petals, stamens | Wither and fall off |
Learn the table as pairs. Each row is one mapping.
Worked example: one flower to one fruit
An original tracing. A flower has an ovary with three ovules. All three ovules are fertilised.
- Each of the three zygotes develops into an embryo.
- Each ovule becomes a seed, so there are three seeds.
- The ovary wall grows and forms the fruit around the three seeds.
- The petals and stamens wither, as their work is finished.
So the fruit holds as many seeds as there were fertilised ovules. If only two ovules had been fertilised, the fruit would usually hold two seeds.
The mistake that costs marks
The common swap is to say the ovule becomes the fruit and the ovary becomes the seed. The ovary is the larger structure that holds the ovules, so it becomes the fruit.
A second slip is to say the pollen grain becomes the seed. The pollen grain only delivers the male nucleus.
| Statement | Verdict |
|---|---|
| The ovary becomes the seed | Wrong: it becomes the fruit |
| The zygote becomes the embryo | Correct |
| The testa comes from the ovule wall | Correct |
How do you use this in an answer?
Give the part, what it becomes, and its role. “The ovary becomes the fruit, which protects the seeds and may help spread them.”
For a tracing question, go in order: pollination, fertilisation, then development, naming each product.
Check yourself
A flower has an ovary with five ovules, and four are fertilised. How many seeds form, and what becomes of the ovary?
Answer
Four seeds form, one from each fertilised ovule. The unfertilised ovule usually does not develop into a seed.
The ovary becomes the fruit, which surrounds the seeds.
What to study next
Test the chain in the practice set. For how seedlings grow afterwards, see plant organisation and growth.
The biological data interpretation trainer and mistake log help you practise and track.
If you want a teacher to test your flower-part pairs aloud, see online one-to-one Biology tuition.