Reproduction of Flowering Plants

As we said in our last lesson, all living things reproduce. Some things reproduce sexually and others reproduce asexually, as you learned in our genetics lesson.

When things reproduce sexually, male and female sex cells -- gametes (an egg and a sperm, for example) -- unite. This produces offspring that are like one parent in some ways and like the other parent in others.

But when things reproduce asexually, there are no sex cells involved. The parent organism simply splits into two or more identical "daughter" organisms (clones).