Apomixis

The formation of sporophyte from the gametophyte without sexual process signifies apomixis. It relates to the replacement of alternation of a reduced gametophyte and an unreduced sporophyte by an unreduced gametophyte and sporophyte. It occurs in relatively in about 35 families. The most common being Asteraceae and Poaceae. Apomixis can be classified into two types, recurrent (in non- reduced embryo sacs) and non-recurrent (in reduced embryo sacs). The later relates to development of haploid embryos without the actual fusion of gametes.

Figure: Diagrammatic representation of Apomixis types