Autogamy
Autogamy ( Gr. Αὐτό autó "self", γάμος gamos "marriage"), also called self-fertilization , is a form of sexual reproduction in which only one parent is present or genetically contributes to reproduction.
In addition to plants, autogamy also occurs in various groups of animals (e.g. real tapeworms , poppy snails ), but overall it is less common than in plants. In flowering plants, self-pollination often leads to autogamy; however, cross- pollination (xenogamy) is also more common in plants .
Genetically , autogamy leads to closely related organisms, which - unlike asexual reproduction - are not identical.
In flowering plants , this term is only used for fertilization within the same flower . This form of fertilization is relatively rare and occurs, for example, with the peanut. If the flower remains closed, one speaks of cleistogamy . The fertilization of other flowers of the same individual or of flowers of clones is called geitonogamy .