Fertilisation
Union of gametes of opposite sexes during the process of sexual reproduction to form a zygote / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about fertilisation in animals and plants. For fertilisation in humans specifically, see Human fertilization. For soil improvement, see Fertilizer.
"Conceive" redirects here. For the health magazine, see Conceive Magazine. For philosophical abstraction, see Concept. For other uses, see Conception (disambiguation).
"impregnate" and "impregnation" redirect here. For the process of making materials water-resistant, see waterproofing.
Fertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation,[1] is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a zygote and initiate its development into a new individual organism or offspring.[2] While processes such as insemination or pollination, which happen before the fusion of gametes, are also sometimes informally referred to as fertilisation,[3] these are technically separate processes. The cycle of fertilisation and development of new individuals is called sexual reproduction. During double fertilisation in angiosperms, the haploid male gamete combines with two haploid polar nuclei to form a triploid primary endosperm nucleus by the process of vegetative fertilisation.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Sperm-egg.jpg/320px-Sperm-egg.jpg)