The fascinating secrets of plant reproduction that scientists are still uncovering

The anthers are where pollen is produced. The Camera Dad

You might think flowers don’t have much choice about who they mate with, given they are rooted to the ground and can’t move.

But when scientists from Nagoya, Japan used powerful microscopes to study the fertilisation process, they were surprised to find the female part of a flowering plant (ovules) could repel sperm from pollen and direct them to nearby unfertilised ovules in the same plant.