Home Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature

Home  Science  Biology

 Cells, Organs & Tissues

Science & Tech

flower
plant anatomy

 Print  Cite  Share

 Feedback 

Written and fact-checked by

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: Oct 25, 2023 • Article
History

 Table of Contents

Listen to article …

Fargo, North Dakota:

sunflower field

See all media

Category: Science & Tech

Key People: Edith Rebecca

:
 Saunders

Related Topics:
inflorescence • hypogynous
flower • perigynous flower
...(Show •…
more)

See all related content

→

Recent News
Oct. 21, 2023, 10:17 AM ET (Yahoo News)
Scientists sound the alarm over fate
of notoriously stinky flower: ‘We
urgently need a joined-up, cross-
regional approach’

flower, the characteristic

reproductive structure of
angiosperms. As popularly
used, the term “flower”
especially applies when part
or all of the reproductive
structure is distinctive in
colour and form.
:
 


petunia
Pink variegated flowers of a
common garden petunia… ...(more)
(Petunia ×atkinsiana).

In their range of colour, size,

form, and anatomical
arrangement, flowers present
a seemingly endless variety of
combinations. They range in
size from minute blossoms to
giant blooms. In some plants,
such as poppy, magnolia,
tulip, and petunia, each flower
is relatively large and showy
and is produced singly, while
in other plants, such as aster,
snapdragon, and lilac, the
individual flowers may be very
small and are borne in a
distinctive cluster known as
an inflorescence. Regardless
of their variety, all flowers
have a uniform function, the
reproduction of the species
:
 through the production of
seed.

Britannica Quiz

All Things Green

Quiz

Form and types

flower parts
Parts of a flower.

Basically, each flower consists

of a floral axis upon which are
borne the essential organs of
reproduction (stamens and
pistils) and usually accessory
organs (sepals and petals); the
latter may serve to both
attract pollinating insects and
protect the essential organs.
The floral axis is a greatly
modified stem; unlike
:
 vegetative stems, which bear
leaves, it is usually contracted,
so that the parts of the flower
are crowded together on the
stem tip, the receptacle. The
flower parts are usually
arrayed in whorls (or cycles)
but may also be disposed
spirally, especially if the axis is
elongate. There are commonly
four distinct whorls of flower
parts: (1) an outer calyx
consisting of sepals; within it
lies (2) the corolla, consisting
of petals; (3) the androecium,
or group of stamens; and in
the centre is (4) the
gynoecium, consisting of the
pistils.

pistil and stamens

A lily flower with a central pistil
surrounded by stamens. The six… ...(more)
orange structures are pollen-laden

The sepals and petals together

:
 make up the perianth, or floral
envelope. The sepals are
usually greenish and often
resemble reduced leaves,
while the petals are usually
colourful and showy. Sepals
and petals that are
indistinguishable, as in lilies
and tulips, are sometimes
referred to as tepals. The
androecium, or male parts of
the flower, comprise the
stamens, each of which
consists of a supporting
filament and an anther, in
which pollen is produced. The
gynoecium, or female parts of
the flower, comprises one or
more pistils, each of which
consists of an ovary, with an
upright extension, the style,
on the top of which rests the
stigma, the pollen-receptive
surface. The ovary encloses
the ovules, or potential seeds.
A pistil may be simple, made
up of a single carpel, or ovule-
bearing modified leaf; or
compound, formed from
several carpels joined
together.
:
 

perfect flower
A perfect flower with floral structures
in multiples of three, Tulipa (tulip)…
...(more)
has a three-lobed stigma, six stamens,

A flower having sepals, petals,

stamens, and pistils is
complete; lacking one or more
of such structures, it is said to
be incomplete. Stamens and
pistils are not present together
in all flowers. When both are
present the flower is said to be
perfect, or bisexual, regardless
of a lack of any other part that
renders it incomplete (see
photograph). A flower that
lacks stamens is pistillate, or
female, while one that lacks
pistils is said to be staminate,
:
 or male. When the same plant
bears unisexual flowers of
both sexes, it is said to be
monoecious (e.g., tuberous
begonia, hazel, oak, corn);
when the male and female
flowers are on different plants,
the plant is dioecious (e.g.,
date, holly, cottonwood,
willow); when there are male,
female, and bisexual flowers
on the same plant, the plant is
termed polygamous.

Compare the Rafflesia

arnoldii's massive bloom 
with Amorphophallus
titanum's towering
inflorescence
An overview of the world's
largest blooms: the monster…
...(more)
flower (Rafflesia arnoldii) and
See all videos for this article

A flower may be radially

symmetrical (see photograph),
as in roses and petunias, in
which case it is termed regular
:
 or actinomorphic. A bilaterally
symmetrical flower, as in
orchids (see photograph) and
snapdragons, is irregular or
zygomorphic.

Get a Britannica
Premium
subscription and
gain access to
exclusive content.

Subscribe Now

Pollination

how flowering plants

reproduce
Reproduction in flowering plants
begins with pollination, the transfer …
...(more)
pollen from anther to stigma on the

The stamens and pistils are

directly involved with the
production of seed. The
:
 stamen bears microsporangia
(spore cases) in which are
developed numerous
microspores (potential pollen
grains); the pistil bears ovules,
each enclosing an egg cell.
When a microspore
germinates, it is known as a
pollen grain. When the pollen
sacs in a stamen’s anther are
ripe, the anther releases them
and the pollen is shed.
Fertilization can occur only if
the pollen grains are
transferred from the anther to
the stigma of a pistil, a process
known as pollination.
:
 

self-pollination
The process of self-pollination
in an angiosperm.

There are two chief kinds of

pollination: (1) self-
pollination, the pollination of
a stigma by pollen from the
same flower or another flower
on the same plant; and (2)
cross-pollination, the transfer
of pollen from the anther of a
flower of one plant to the
stigma of the flower of another
plant of the same species. Self-
pollination occurs in many
species, but in the others,
perhaps the majority, it is
prevented by such adaptations
:
 as the structure of the flower,
self-incompatibility, and the
maturation of stamens and
pistils of the same flower or
plant at different times. Cross-
pollination may be brought
about by a number of agents,
chiefly insects and wind.
Wind-pollinated flowers (see
photograph) generally can be
recognized by their lack of
colour, odour, or nectar, while
animal-pollinated flowers (see
photograph) are conspicuous
by virtue of their structure,
colour, or the production of
scent or nectar.

Uncover how flowers attract

their pollinators
How flowers attract pollinators.
See all videos for this article

After a pollen grain has

reached the stigma, it
germinates, and a pollen tube
:
 protrudes from it. This tube,
containing two male gametes
(sperms), extends into the
ovary and reaches the ovule,
discharging its gametes so
that one fertilizes the egg cell,
which becomes an embryo,
and the other joins with two
polar nuclei to form the
endosperm. (Normally many
pollen grains fall on a stigma;
they all may germinate, but
only one pollen tube enters
any one ovule.) Following
fertilization, the embryo is on
its way to becoming a seed,
and at this time the ovary
itself enlarges to form the
fruit.

Cultural
:
 significance
Flowers have been symbols of
beauty in most civilizations of
the world, and flower giving is
still among the most popular
of social amenities. As gifts,
flowers serve as expressions of
affection for spouses, other
family members, and friends;
as decorations at weddings
and other ceremonies; as
tokens of respect for the
deceased; as cheering gifts to
the bedridden; and as
expressions of thanks or
appreciation. Most flowers
bought by the public are
grown in commercial
greenhouses or horticultural
fields and then sold through
wholesalers to retail florists.
See also articles on individual
flowers (e.g., carnation; lotus;
petunia; rose; tulip).

The Editors of Encyclopaedia

Britannica

This article was most recently

revised and updated by Melissa
Petruzzello.
:
 Home  Science  Plants
 Flowering Plants

Animals & Nature

Chloranthales
plant order

 Print  Cite  Share

 Feedback

Written by Paul E. Berry

Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: Article History

 Table of Contents

Listen to article …

Sarcandra glabra

See all media

Category: Animals & Nature

Related Topics: angiosperm •

Chloranthaceae
:
 See all related content
→

Chloranthales, order of
flowering plants, a basal
branch of the angiosperm tree,
consisting of 1 family,
Chloranthaceae, with 4 genera
(Ascarina, Chloranthus,
Hedyosmum, and Sarcandra)
and about 75 species.
Chloranthaceae appears very
early in the flowering plant
fossil record, but its
relationships to other basal
flowering plant groups remain
somewhat unclear.

Chloranthaceae are soft-

wooded aromatic shrubs and
:
 trees with opposite saw-
toothed leaves and swollen
nodes. The flowers are very
small, often unisexual, and
usually lack petals or tepals,
although they are sometimes
subtended by leaflike bracts.
The flowers have either 1–5
stamens or a single carpel that
develops into a drupe.

Britannica Quiz

Plants: From
Cute to
Carnivorous

Chloranthaceae is
pantropical but does not occur
on the African continent
(however, it does occur on the
nearby island of Madagascar).
Species of the genus
Chloranthus have been used
as a tea and to combat fevers,
and Sarcandra glabra is
cultivated as an ornamental.
:
 Paul E. Berry

Load Next Page


: