MP Board · Class 12 · Biology · Sexual Reproduction in Flowering PlantsDescribe the phenomenon of double fertilization.

Double fertilization is a unique and defining characteristic feature of angiosperms discovered by S.G. Nawaschin. In this process, out of the two male gametes discharged by a pollen tube into the embryo sac, one male gamete fuses with the egg cell nucleus to form a diploid zygote, a process known as syngamy or generative fertilization. The second male gamete fuses with the two polar nuclei located in the central cell to form a triploid primary endosperm nucleus, a process referred to as triple fusion. Together, syngamy and triple fusion constitute double fertilization.