The offspring receive cytoplasm only from female gamete and not from male gamete. Hence, the plasmagenes of female parent alone are contributed to the offspring. As a result, the cytoplasmic inheritance is said to be a maternal inheritance.

In cytoplasmic inheritance, the results of reciprocal crosses are not the same.
Examples: 1. Kappa particles in Paramecium.
2. Shell-coiling in snail.
3. Plastid inheritance in Mirabilis
4. Inheritance of pigments in Ephestia.