Question

How do Hibiscus and Papaya different from each other with regard to sexuality?

Answer 1

The Hibiscus and the papaya are both perennial plants but the difference is that the papaya produces edible fruit but on the other the fruit of the hibiscus is not so edible. Hibiscus is a decorative flower but papaya is not.

Complete answer:
We know that both papaya and hibiscus follow sexual mode of reproduction. The pollination process is carried out with the help of bees and other flying insects which takes the pollen from the male part of the plant to the female stigma of another flower. The papaya also follow the same mechanism of cross-pollination. The papaya plant is known to be producing three different types of plants which are male bearing male flowers, female which contains female flowers and the last stage is hermaphrodite which contains both male and the female flowers. The male and the female flowers have to undergo cross pollination only and the hermaphrodite plant can undergo self-pollination only because the pollen gets transferred to stigma on the same flower easily.

The plant of hibiscus is not known to be producing three different types of flowers. So this is the difference related to the sexuality of both the plants. Also, the male plant of the papaya family always bears pollen but the development of fruit cannot be seen in the male family. Both the female and the hermaphrodite plants can bear fruits due to the presence of female flowers.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note: Despite the sexual differences in both the plants, there are morphological differences in the plants like the hibiscus plants are not as much taller than the papaya plant whose height can go upto 6 meters. Also, the flower of Hibiscus plant is very beautiful and can be used as a decorative item and on the other hand the papaya flowers are just for the reproduction and the production of fruit.