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How are ginkgo sperm cells unusual among seed plants?
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Ginkgo sperm cells are unusual among seed plants because they are flagellated and motile.123
While most modern seed plants have evolved to rely on pollen tubes to deliver non-motile sperm directly to the egg, Ginkgo and cycads retain the primitive, ancestral trait of producing swimming sperm. These sperm are released into a fertilization chamber within the ovule, where they use their flagella to swim through liquid to reach the egg. This reliance on motile sperm is considered a transitional evolutionary condition, distinguishing Ginkgo from the vast majority of other seed-producing plants, which lack such structures.132