 Seeds are produced when the female part of the flower (pistil) is fertilized by pollen from the male part of the flower (stamen). Most plants have hermaphroditic or "perfect" flowers, with both male and female parts, as shown in the photo of rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos).
You can find species at the field station that have rarer, alternative breeding systems, including several native woody shrubs that are dioecious, meaning that they produce male and female flowers on separate plants. For example, the bayberry (Morella pensylvanica), a salt-tolerant species that does very well on Nantucket, is a dioecious shrub. At the end of the growing season, female plants of dioecious species bear fruit, while males have none. |
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American Holly (Ilex opaca), and Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) are other examples of dioecious plants growing at the field station. |
 Plants can also reproduce vegetatively, or asexually, by creating "clones" of themselves; one common method is to produce underground stem systems known as rhizomes. Most ferns spread vegetatively, including the sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) that grows near the Field Station pond. Blue Flag (Iris versicolor), found in the wetlands by the pond, is another example of a rhizomatous plant. 
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While vegetative reproduction is a convenient way for plants to spread, they still depend on sexual reproduction. The combination of two parents' DNA creates genetic variation that has been shown to provide plant populations with resilience against predators and disease. The image below shows the seed head of I. versicolor.
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