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RubiNisha trichy, India Feb 11, 2015

what's the need of pollination in plants that dont bear fruit cant make seeds???????

Post #10020857
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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Feb 11, 2015

Name a plant you are asking about.

I can think of a couple of possibilities:

Plant grows in an area with a lot of competition or other impossible conditions for seeds and has evolved into reproducing with offsets instead of seeds. This way the new plants get more energy from the parent plant to get ahead of the competition. This is asexual reproduction, so does not have the benefits of mixing the genes.
Examples (these plants may do both):
Many of the plants that live in very dry environments will get the next generation started by sharing the water saved by the parents. Succulents such as Agave, Aloe, Echiveria, some Cactaceae, and others. Most of these also flower, so they are not depending on just one method of reproduction.

Some Bromeliads. Often the epiphitic types, but also some of the ground dwelling types too. These will usually flower, then the parent plant will start making offsets, too.

Aspen, Mangrove and other trees that sprout from roots.
Many plants in the Coastal Forest community in the Pacific Northwest. (Northern California to Alaska. Forest duff (fallen leaves etc) is so thick that many plants will sprout offsets rather than put a lot of energy into seeds. This is a temperate rain forest. Temperatures are a bit cooler, and the trees are often conifers with decay-resistant needles and twigs. So they decompose very slowly.

2) Plant is actually an algae, fungi or other organism and does not have flowers or seeds.

3) Some speculation about why, but here goes:
If a plant produces fruit and seeds regularly animals begin to learn where to be, and when, to get a lot of food.
If a plant produces fruit and seeds at long intervals it is such an odd even that the animals are not ready to eat it all, and the plant may get ahead, with more seedlings sprouting 'cause they did not get eaten as seeds.
Along similar lines: If a plant does not produce seeds every year, but when it does it produces a LOT of seeds the animals get full eating, so do not eat them all. So more are left to sprout.
So several years may go by and you do not see flowers or fruit, but some time there will be.

4. Plants have been selected and bred for some other reason, and have been selected to be able to be reproduced via cuttings or grafting. Many fruit trees are like one or the other of this sort of thing. Bananas are grown from cuttings. Apples, pears, peaches, plums and many others are usually grafted. They may still get pollinated, but are not usually grown from seed.

Post #10021193
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RubiNisha trichy, India Feb 12, 2015

Diana_K you helped me again.thank you somuch

Post #10021277
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