Self-pollination

From Free net encyclopedia

Self-pollination is a form of pollination that can occur when a flower has both stamens and a pistil in which the cultivar or species is self fertile and the stamens and the sticky stigma of the pistil contact each other to accomplish pollination. The term is inaccurately used in many cases where an outside pollinator is actually required; such plants are merely self pollenizing.

Few plants actually self pollinate. The mechanism is seen most often in some legumes such as peanuts. In another legume, Soybeans, the flowers open and remain receptive to insect cross pollination during the day; if this is not accomplished, the flowers self pollinate as they are closing.

Self pollination, or more generally self pollenizing, seems to be a defect in nature, because it limits the variety of progeny and tends to depress plant vigor; however, in selective breeding by humans it can be advantageous, because plant cultivars have moved beyond the range of native pollinators (without also transporting the pollinator), or pollinator populations have been greatly reduced.

A self-pollinating plant can be considered to be a botanical hermaphrodite.ko:자가수분