Helianthus or sunflowers is a

genus of plants comprising about

70 species in the family
Asteraceae. Except for three
species in South America, all
Helianthus species are native to
North America. The common
name, "sunflower," also applies to
the popular annual species
Helianthus annuus,, the common
sunflower. This and other
species, notably Jerusalem
artichoke (H. tuberosus),), are
cultivated in temperate regions
as food crops and ornamental
plants.
Sunflowers are usually tall annuals, that grow to a
height of 50–400
400 centimeters (20–157
(20 in).
The rough and hairy stem is branched in the upper
part in wild plants but is usually unbranched in
domesticated cultivars. The petiolate leaves are
dentate and often sticky. The lower leaves are opposite,
ovate or often heart-shaped.
shaped.
They bear one or several to many wide, terminal
capitula (flower heads), with bright yellow ray florets
at the outside and yellow or maroon (also known as a
brown/red) disc florets inside. Several ornamental
cultivars have red-colored
colored ray florets; all of them stem
from a single original mutant. During growth,
sunflowers tilt during the day to face the sun, but stop
once they begin blooming. This tracking of the sun in
young sunflower heads is called heliotropism. By the
time they are mature, sunflowers generally face east.
Helianthus species are used as food plants by the
larvae of many lepidopterans.
Scientific Classification
•Kingdom: Plantae
•Subkingdom:
Tracheobionta
Superdivision:
•Superdivision:
Spermatophyta
•Division:
Magnoliophyta
•Class: Magnoliopsida
•Subclass: Asteridae
•Order: Asterales
•Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Helianthus
•Genus:
The sunflower reproduces sexually through the method
of pollination. On one individual flower, the sunflower
contains both the female and male sex organs. On the
disk of the sunflower, if looked at closely, one will be
able to see a five pointed, fused corolla. This is actually
five petals commixed together to make a whole corolla.
Found in the center of each corolla, are both the male
and female reproductive organs. The anther which
contains the pollen, besets the style of the pistil. Then
as the style progresses to grow, the pollen is propelled
out. This is where the insects, allured by the petals,
come find pollen. Once found by the insects, the pollen
is picked up and moved to other sunflowers. Then when
the style is completely done growing and the pollen is
all gone, the style becomes disclosed and waits for
pollen left from insects from another flower.
The sweet pea is an annual flower
grown in cool maritime or mountain
climates, and brings forth its beauty
all summer. They're best in cool
seasons like winter and early spring.
Sweet peas are vining plants that
climb vigorously -- six to eight feet
over fences and other supports.
The flowers are pink, white, red,
lavender, purple, and near blue
 Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

(unranked): Angiosperms

(unranked): Eudicots

(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Vicieae
Genus: Lathyrus

Species: L. odoratus
Materials Required:

Sunflower, Sweet pea flower, forceps , needles,

dissecting microscope, slides etc.
 Sunflower

Experimental Procedure:-
Take sunflower and cut it into two equal halves by a
longitudinal cut passing through the centre.
Observe its florets carefully with the help of hand
lens and under the microscope.
Observation:
Sunflower is an inflorescence called capitulum or
head in which small, sessile flowers called florets
are borne on a flattened receptacle in centripetal
manner. The inflorescence is surrounded by one
or more whorls of bracts called involucre. In
sunflower, the central florets are bisexual and
tubular called disc florets while the peripheral
florets are ligulate called ray florets.
1)Ray florets. These are present in the periphery
and have brightly coloured strap shaped petals.
Stamens are absent and ovaries are without
ovules. Ray florets act as organs of attraction for
insects.

2)Disc florets. These are present in the central

region of the inflorescence. Their corolla consists
of five fused petals forming a tube. Stamens are
five with fused anthers and free filaments. This
condition of stamens is called syngenesious. The
ovary consists of two fused carpels containing
only one ovule. The style is long with two
stigmas. The nectary lies at the rase of the style.
Pollination Mechanism
Sunflower is protandrous i.e. the stamens ripen before the stigmas.
In the young disc florets, the anthers split along their inner sides, so
that the pollen grains are shed into the tube formed by the joined
anthers.
You might have observed pollen grains with the help of the lens on
the non-receptive surface of the stigma.
stigma In young disc florets, the
short style below the pollen tube and the receptive surfaces of the
two stigmas are pressed together so that pollen grains of the same
lower cannot reach them.
Later, in older disc florets, the style elongates, pushing the pollen
grain out of the anther tube. And the stigmas open out to expose
the stigmatic (receptive) surface. By the time, the central young
ones have reached the stage where only the pollen grains are
released, the older disc florets (outer ones) have already got their
stigmas above the stamens and their stigmatic surfaces are
exposed.
The honey-bee, which generally causes pollination in sunflower first
settles in the centre of the head (capitulum).
(capitulum) It receives pollens all
over its legs and under-surface as it walks outwards. You may
observe pollen grains on the legs and under-surface of the bee 'with
the help of hand lens. When the bee reaches the older flowers, the
pollen grains (obtained from other flower heads) from its body are
spread on the exposed stigmatic receptive surface and cross-
pollination is affected.
If cross-pollination fails, the stigmas curl round to pick up their own
pollen grains and thus secure self-pollination
pollination.
Conclusion:
Sunflower has following adaptive features for
pollination:
Adaptations for cross-pollination
pollination by Insects
•Ray florets have coloured to attract insects as bees.
•Nectaries are present at the base of the ovary to
attract the pollinators.
•Protandrous condition of the flower prevent self
pollination.
•The style elongates and the stigmatic surface is
exposed only in older flower to ensure cross
pollination.
Adaptations for self Pollination
If cross-pollination fails, the stigmas curl round to
pick up their own pollen grains to ensure
pollination.
II. SWEET PEA FLOWER

Experimental Procedure

Take a flower of sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) cut a vertical

section of the flower and study the structure and arrangement
of floral parts.
Observe flowering sweet pea plant and find out what type of
insect visit it.
OBSERVATION
Sweet pea flower has 5 fused sepals. Corolla
consists of 5 petals. The posterior petal is
large called standard, two lateral ones are
called wings, two anterior one unit to form a
boat shaped structure called keel.
Within the keel are 10 stamens arranged in
two groups 9 + 1. Filaments of 9 stamen fused
to form a filament tube in which nectar is
secreted from the nectary.
Gynoecium is monocarpellary and consists of
a long style, bent upwards rouhly at right
angle and bears the hairy stigma.
Pollination
Like sunflower, sweet pea also shows
protandry i.e. anthers mature before stigma.
The mature anthers burst when stigma is still
immature. The insects like honey bees crawl
over them to suck nectar from staminal tube
and get pollen grains on their legs and
abdomen in the process. But it is not able to
pollinate the immature stigma. These pollen
loaded bees when visit mature stigma of
other plant, bring about successful
pollination i.e., cross pollination:
CONCLUSION
Coloured petals of flower attract the insect
to collect nectar from them and promote
cross-pollination
pollination which becomes essential
due to protandry.
 Comprehensive lab manual-Biology
•Comprehensive manual
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