Bean Plant Life Cycle
Beans are a favorite food for many. They are produced by plants and are actually the seed of the bean plant and part of its life cycle. The life cycle a bean plant follows is the same cycle that many plants follow. Does this Spark an idea?
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Process
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An adult bean plant will develop flowers, the flowers will be pollinated, then fertilized; the flowers will bear fruit that contain seed, and the seed will germinate to become an adult that will flower.
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Bean Flowers
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Bean flowers contain both male and female reproductive parts, also known as perfect flowers. This results in bean plants being primarily self-pollinators. Pollination occurs when pollen from the male part of the flower (anther) is transferred to the female part of the flower (stigma).
Pollination
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The anther sheds pollen the evening before the flower opens, but it is not transferred to the stigma until after the flower opens. A short time after the flower opens, the stigma retracts into the keel (the scoop-shaped bottom petal of the flower) and comes into contact with the pollen from the anthers.
Fertilization
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About 8 to 9 hours after pollination, the pollen tube, which emerges from the pollen once it has been released by the anther, reaches the flower's ovary. At this point, the male gamete (male sex cell) unites with the egg and a zygote is formed.
Fruit And Seed
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The flower of the bean plant will eventually yield the fruit, otherwise known as the bean pod. The pod contains the bean seeds. Once the seeds are released from the pod, they will take anywhere from 6 to 20 days to sprout, also known as germination.
References
- Photo Credit "Magic Bean" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: darkpatator (Frédéric DUPONT) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
