Cleistogamous Flowers & Autogamy — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2022Some plants such as Viola (common pansy), Oxalis, and Commelina produce two types of flowers – chasmogamous flowers which are similar to flowers of other species with exposed anthers and stigma, and cleistogamous flowers which do not open at all. In such flowers, the anthers and stigma lie close to each other. When anthers dehisce in the flower buds, pollen grains come in contact with the stigma to effect pollination. Thus, cleistogamous flowers are invariably autogamous as there is no chance of cross-pollen landing on the stigma. Cleistogamous flowers produce assured seed-set even in the absence of pollinators. Do you think that cleistogamy is advantageous or disadvantageous to the plant? Why?
Cleistogamous flowers never open, forcing anthers and stigma to remain in close contact. When anthers dehisce inside the bud, pollination occurs automatically—this is invariably autogamous (self-pollination). NTA tests whether students understand that cleistogamy eliminates cross-pollination chance entirely. The common mistake is confusing cleistogamy with chasmogamy or thinking it allows both self and cross-pollination. Remember: cleistogamous = always closed + always self-pollinated + guaranteed seed-set. This concept appears because it highlights the relationship between flower morphology and breeding system, crucial for understanding reproductive strategies in plants.
Given below are two statements: (NEET 2022) Statement I: Cleistogamous flowers are invariably autogamous. Statement II: Cleistogamy is disadvantageous as there is no chance for cross pollination. In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
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