Flowers

Flower is the part of the shoot system specializing in sexual reproduction. Regardless of form, all
flowers share certain basic features. A typical flower is composed of different parts, each with its own
function/s.

The flower arise from the axil of the leaf. A typical complete flower consists of four whorls. The outer
whorl is the calyx, the next is the corolla and the inner whorl are the essential organs. The essential whorls
are the stamen and pistil.

PARTS OF FLOWER
Reproduction in plants is more varied and complex than human reproduction. Plants exhibit both the
sexual and asexual forms of reproduction.

1. Pedicel – the stalk that holds the flower

2. Receptacie – somewhat enlarged tip o the pedicel from which the floral parts arise.
3. Sepal – one of the several leaf-like structures that make up the outmost circle of the floral parts. It
is usually green in color. It protects the flower while it is still a bud.
4. Calyx – the collective term for all sepals.
5. Petal – one of the colored leaf-like structures that occurs in one or more circles within the sepals.
6. Corolla – the collective term for all petals.
7. Perianth – the collective term for the sepals and petals.
8. Pistil (carpel) – the seed-bearing organ of the flower, usually pear-shaped and found at the center
of the flower. It is composed of the ovary, style and stigma. They are collectively called gynoecium.
When the carpels are united, the gynoecium is described as syncarpous, when free, the gynoecium
is describe as apocarpous.
9. Ovary – the enlarged basal of the pistil. It can have one or more locules (cavities) containing ovules
that develop into seeds after fertilization.
a. Ovules – small, round or oval-shaped bodies inside the locules of the ovary. They contain the
egg cell and other related cells.
b. Locule – the cavity within the ovary.
10. Style – long and slender neck-like part extending the ovary. It serves as a passageway for the pollen
from the stigma to the ovary.
11. Stigma – sticky part found at the tip of the style to which the pollen adheres after pollination.
12. Stamen – the essential male part of the flower consisting of an anther and a filament. The anther
and the filament are collectively called androecium.
a. Anther – where pollen grains are reproduced. It is supported by the slender filament and usually
consists of four pollen sacs.
b. Filament – the slender stalk that supports the anther.
CLASSIFICATION OF FLOWERS
PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF FLORAL PARTS

1. Complete flower – a flower that has all the four essential floral parts: the sepal, petal, stamen and
pistil.
2. Incomplete flower – a flower that lacks one or more of the four floral parts.
3. Perfect flower – a flower with both the stamen and pistil ( may lack sepals and petals); also called
bisexual flower.
4. Imperfect flower – a flower that bears either the stamen or pistil. The flower may be staminate or
pistilate. It is also called unisexual flower.

SIZE AND SHAPE OF FLORAL PARTS

1. Regular flower – a flower in which the corolla is made up of similarly-shaped petals equally spaced
and radiating from the center of the flower.
2. Irregular flower – a flower in which one or more members of at least one whorl are of a different
forms or size from others.
a. Papilionaceous – the standard petal or banner is usually the large and most striking. The two
wings or alae are lateral, and a keel is present. (examples: batao and sitao flower)
b. Caesalpiniaceous – the standard petal is the smallest and innermost. The two wings and two
keels are almost the same in size and shape. (examples: fire tree and caballero)
c. Orchidaceous – the flower has three petals; one is very much different in size and shape and
is called the lip or labellum.

SYMMETRY

1. Radial symmetry – symmetry in which a flower is divisible on more than one axis into two equal
halves that are mirror images of each other. This is also known as regular or actinomorphic
symmetry.
2. Bilateral symmetry – symmetry in which a flower is distinctly divisible into right and left sides. It
also known as irregular or zygomorphic symmetry.

POSTION OF THE OVARY

1. Perigynous – a flower in which the ovary is half-interior but the bases of the stamens, petals, and
sepals develop as a floral cup around the ovary.
2. Hypogynous – a flower in which the ovary is superior, with the stamens, petals, and sepals arising
from a level below the base of the ovary.
3. Epigynous – a flower in which the ovary is inferior, with the stamens, petals. snd sepals arising
from a level above the base of the ovary.
PLACENTATION

The part of the ovary where the ovule is attached to is called the placenta.placentation maybe:

1. Marginal – the ovules are attached to vertical rows or rows along the ovary wall.
2. Parietal – in a compound pistil, the carpels are joined margin to margin and the placenta is
situated on the ovary walls.
3. Basal – found in both simple and compound carpels, with one locule in the ovary. The ovule is
attached to the base of the ovary.
4. Axile – the ovules are attached to the middle of the ovary, where the septae of a compound pistil
are joined.

FUSION OF FLORAL PARTS

1. Adnation – when unlike parts like petals and sepals are fused.
2. Connation – when like parts are fused, as in the petals of anthurium.

INFLORESCENCE
A plant may produced flowers singly t the end of the main root, at the end of branch shoot, or in the
axils of leaves. Flowers may also occur in groups or clusters.

KINDS OF INFLORESCENCE

1. Spike – elongated axis, flowers are sessile or without stalk.

2. Spadix – a spike with a fleshy axis, enclosed by a large, often brightly-colored bract called spathe.
3. Catkin – a spike with a long and pendulous axis, bears unisexual flower only.
4. Raceme – elongated axis, bears a number of flowers which are all stalked, the lower flowers having
longer stalks than the upper.
5. Panicle – main axis of the flower is branched and the lateral branches bears the stalked flowers.
6. Cyme – the main axis ends in flower that opens before the flower below or in its side open.
7. Corymb – the main axis is comparatively short.
8. Umbel – the primary axis is shortened and bears at its tip a group of flower which have pedicels of
more or less equal lengths that they appear to spread out from a common point.
9. Capitulum or head – the main axis is suppressed, becoming almost flat.

OTHER TYPES

1. Cyathium – consist of a cup-shaped involucres formed by fused heads

2. Verticillaster – with a cluster od sessile flowers in the axil of a leaf forming whorl at the node.
 3. Hypanthodium – fleshy receptacle forms a hollow cavity which is more or less pear-shaped and
has a narrow opening.

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN FLOWERING PLANTS

The floral organs essential for sexual reproduction are the stamen and pistil

THE STAMEN

Each stamen consist of an anther and a stalk calld a filament. The anther has four elongated and
connected lobes called pollen sacs. Each pollen sac consist a mass of dividing cells called
microsporocyte.

THE PISTIL

The structure of the pistil depends on the number and arrangement of carpels. It consist of three parts;
a) ovary, the expanded basal portion; b) style; c) stamina column, a slender stalk; and d) stigma, the sticky
structure at the tip of the style.

POLLINATION
The process of transferring pollen grin from the stamen to the stigma of a flower is called pollination.
There are two types of pollination:

1. Self-pollination – the transfer of the pollen from the stamen to the stigma of the same flower or
the stigma of another flower of the same plant.
2. Cross-pollination – the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of flowers found in separate
plants.

Pollination is effective by different vectors or agents like wind, insects, birds and man.

POLLEN TUBE GROWTH AND FERTILIZATION

After the pollen grains lands on the stigma of the pistil, the following events occur:
1. The pollen grain on the stigma absorbs water, swells, elongates, germinates and forms a pollen
tube, which grows down through the style by enzymatically digesting some stylar cells, and finally
enters the ovary.
 2. The pollen tube enters the microspyle of an ovule and releases into the embryo sac the two sperm
nuclei.
3. One haploid sperm nucleus fuses with the haploid egg nucleus, forming a diploid zygote (2N) or a
fertilized egg.
4. The second sperm nucleus fuses with two polar nuclei to form the triploid endosperm (3N) nuclei.
This is known as triple fusion. Fertilization and triple fusion result in what we call double
fertilization.
5. The antipodals, synergids, and tube nucleus finally disintegrate.
6. The zygote by a series of cell divisions develops into an embryo.

MONOECIOUS AND DIOECIOUS PLANTS

When both the male and the female flower are found in one plant, the plant is said to be monoecious.
If the male (stamen) and female (pistil) flowers are borne separately, the species is dioecious.
PARTS OF FLOWER
Reproduction in plants is more varied and complex than human reproduction. Plants
exhibit both the sexual and asexual forms of reproduction.

1. Pedicel – the stalk that holds the flower

2. Receptacie – somewhat enlarged tip o the pedicel from which the floral parts
arise.
3. Sepal – one of the several leaf-like structures that make up the outmost circle of
the floral parts. It is usually green in color. It protects the flower while it is still a
bud.
4. Calyx – the collective term for all sepals.
5. Petal – one of the colored leaf-like structures that occurs in one or more circles
within the sepals.
6. Corolla – the collective term for all petals.
7. Perianth – the collective term for the sepals and petals.
8. Pistil (carpel) – the seed-bearing organ of the flower, usually pear-shaped and
found at the center of the flower. It is composed of the ovary, style and stigma.
They are collectively called gynoecium. When the carpels are united, the
gynoecium is described as syncarpous, when free, the gynoecium is describe as
apocarpous.
9. Ovary – the enlarged basal of the pistil. It can have one or more locules (cavities)
containing ovules that develop into seeds after fertilization.
a. Ovules – samml, round or oval-shaped bodies inside the locules of the
ovary. They contain the egg cell and other related cells.
b. Locule – the cavity within the ovary.
10. Style – long and slender neck-like part extending the ovary. It serves as a
passageway for the pollen from the stigma to the ovary.
11. Stigma – sticky part found at the tip of the style to which the pollen adheres after
pollination.
12. Stamen – the essential male part of the flower consisting of an anther and a
filament. The anther and the filament are collectively called androecium.
a. Anther – where pollen grains are reproduced. It is supported by the slender
filament and usually consists of four pollen sacs.
b. Filament – the slender stalk that supports the anther.
CLASSIFICATION OF FLOWERS
PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF FLORAL PARTS

1. Complete flower – a flower that has all the four essential floral parts: the sepal,
petal, stamen and pistil.
2. Incomplete flower – a flower that lacks one or more of the four floral parts.
3. Perfect flower – a flower with both the stamen and pistil ( may lack sepals and
petals); also called bisexual flower.
4. Imperfect flower – a flower that bears either the stamen or pistil. The flower
may be staminate or pistilate. It is also called unisexual flower.

SIZE AND SHAPE OF FLORAL PARTS

1. Regular flower – a flower in which the corolla is made up of similarly-shaped

petals equally spaced and radiating from the center of the flower.
2. Irregular flower – a flower in which one or more members of at least one whorl
are of a different forms or size from others.
a. Papilionaceous – the standard petal or banner is usually the large and most
striking. The two wings or alae are lateral, and a keel is present. (examples:
batao and sitao flower)
b. Caesalpinaceous – the standard petal is the smallest and innermost. The two
wings and two keels are almost the same in size and shape. (examples: fire
tree and caballero)
c. Orchidaceous – the flower has three petals; one is very much different in size
and shape and is called the lip or labellum.

SYMMETRY

1. Radial symmetry – symmetry in which a flower is divisible on more than one

axis into two equal halves that are mirror images of each other. This is also known
as regular or actinomorphic symmetry.
2. Bilateral symmetry – symmetry in which a flower is distinctly divisible into right
and left sides. It also known as irregular or zygomorphic symmetry.

POSTION OF THE OVARY

1. Perigynous – a flower in which the ovary is half-interior but the bases of the
stamens, petals, and sepals develop as a floral cup around the ovary.
2. Hypogynous – a flower in which the ovary is superior, with the stamens, petals,
and sepals arising from a level below the base of the ovary.
3. Epigynous – a flower in which the ovary is inferior, with the stamens, petals. snd
sepals arising from a level above the base of the ovary.
PLACENTATION

The part of the ovary where the ovule is attached to is called the placenta.placentation
maybe:

1. Marginal – the ovules are attached to vertical rows or rows along the ovary wall.
2. Parietal – in a compound pistil, the carpels are joined margin to margin and the
placenta is situated on the ovary walls.
3. Basal – found in both simple and compound carpels, with one locule in the ovary.
The ovule is attached to the base of the ovary.
4. Axile – the ovules are attached to the middle of the ovary, where the septae of a
compound pistil are joined.

FUSION OF FLORAL PARTS

1. Adnation – when unlike parts like petals and sepals are fused.
2. Connation – when like parts are fused, as in the petals of anthurium.

INFLORESCENCE
A plant may produced flowers singly t the end of the main root, at the end of branch
shoot, or in the axils of leaves. Flowers may also occur in groups or clusters.

KINDS OF INFLORESCENCE

1. Spike – elongated axis, flowers are sessile or without stalk.

2. Spadix – a spike with a fleshy axis, enclosed by a large, often brightly-colored
bract called spathe.
3. Catkin – a spike with a long and pendulous axis, bears unisexual flower only.
4. Raceme – elongated axis, bears a number of flowers which are all stalked, the
lower flowers having longer stalks than the upper.
5. Panicle – main axis of the flower is branched and the lateral branches bears the
stalked flowers.
6. Cyme – the main axis ends in flower that opens before the flower below or in its
side open.
7. Corymb – the main axis is comparatively short.
8. Umbel – the primary axis is shortened and bears at its tip a group of flower which
have pedicels of more or less equal lengths that they appear to spread out from
a common point.
 9. Capitulum or head – the main axis is suppressed, becoming almost flat.

OTHER TYPES

1. Cyathium – consist of a cup-shaped involucres formed by fused heads

2. Verticillaster – with a cluster od sessile flowers in the axil of a leaf forming whorl
at the node.
3. Hypanthodium – fleshy receptacle forms a hollow cavity which is more or less
pear-shaped and has a narrow opening.

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN FLOWERING PLANTS

The floral organs essential for sexual reproduction are the stamen and pistil

THE STAMEN

Each stamen consist of an anther and a stalk calld a filament. The anthee has four
elongated and connected lobes called pollen sacs. Each pollen sac consist a mass of
dividing cells called microsporocyte.

THE PISTIL

The structure of the pistil depends on the number and arrangement of carpels. It
consist of three parts; a) ovary, the expanded basal portion; b) style; c) stamina
column, a slender stalk; and d) stigma, the sticky structure at the tip of the style.

POLLINATION
The process of transferring pollen grin from the stamen to the stigma of a flower is
called pollination. There are two types of pollination:

1. Self-pollination – the transfer of the pollen from the stamen to the stigma of
the same flower or the stigma of another flower of the same plant.
2. Cross-pollination – the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of
flowers found in separate plants.

Pollination is effective by different vectors or agents like wind, insects, birds and
man.

POLLEN TUBE GROWTH AND FERTILIZATION

 After the pollen grains lands on the stigma of the pistil, the following events occur:

1. The pollen grain on the stigma absorbs water, swells, elongates, germinates and
forms a pollen tube, which grows down through the style by enzymatically
digesting some stylar cells, and finally enters the ovary.
2. The pollen tube enters the microspyle of an ovule and releases into the embryo
sac the two sperm nuclei.
3. One haploid sperm nucleus fuses with the haploid egg nucleus, forming a diploid
zygote (2N) or a fertilized egg.

4. The second sperm nucleus fuses with two polar nuclei to form the triploid
endosperm (3N) nuclei. This is known as triple fusion. Fertilization and triple
fusion result in what we call double fertilization.
5. The antipodals, synergids, and tube nucleus finally disintegrate.
6. The zygote by a series of cell divisions develops into an embryo.

MONOECIOUS AND DIOECIOUS PLANTS

When both the male and the female flower are found in one plant, the plant is said
to be monoecious. If the male (stamen) and female (pistil) flowers are borne separately,
the species is dioecious.

PARTS OF FLOWER
Reproduction in plants is more varied and complex than human reproduction. Plants exhibit both
the sexual and asexual forms of reproduction.
 1. Pedicel – the stalk that holds the flower
2. Receptacie – somewhat enlarged tip o the pedicel from which the floral parts arise.
3. Sepal – one of the several leaf-like structures that make up the outmost circle of the floral
parts. It is usually green in color. It protects the flower while it is still a bud.
4. Calyx – the collective term for all sepals.
5. Petal – one of the colored leaf-like structures that occurs in one or more circles within the
sepals.
6. Corolla – the collective term for all petals.
7. Perianth – the collective term for the sepals and petals.
8. Pistil (carpel) – the seed-bearing organ of the flower, usually pear-shaped and found at the
center of the flower. It is composed of the ovary, style and stigma. They are collectively
called gynoecium. When the carpels are united, the gynoecium is described as syncarpous,
when free, the gynoecium is describe as apocarpous.
9. Ovary – the enlarged basal of the pistil. It can have one or more locules (cavities) containing
ovules that develop into seeds after fertilization.
a. Ovules – samml, round or oval-shaped bodies inside the locules of the ovary. They
contain the egg cell and other related cells.
b. Locule – the cavity within the ovary.
10. Style – long and slender neck-like part extending the ovary. It serves as a passageway for the
pollen from the stigma to the ovary.
11. Stigma – sticky part found at the tip of the style to which the pollen adheres after pollination.
12. Stamen – the essential male part of the flower consisting of an anther and a filament. The anther
and the filament are collectively called androecium.
a. Anther – where pollen grains are reproduced. It is supported by the slender filament and
usually consists of four pollen sacs.
b. Filament – the slender stalk that supports the anther.

CLASSIFICATION OF FLOWERS
PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF FLORAL PARTS

1. Complete flower – a flower that has all the four essential floral parts: the sepal, petal, stamen
and pistil.
2. Incomplete flower – a flower that lacks one or more of the four floral parts.
3. Perfect flower – a flower with both the stamen and pistil ( may lack sepals and petals); also
called bisexual flower.
4. Imperfect flower – a flower that bears either the stamen or pistil. The flower may be staminate
or pistilate. It is also called unisexual flower.
SIZE AND SHAPE OF FLORAL PARTS

1. Regular flower – a flower in which the corolla is made up of similarly-shaped petals equally
spaced and radiating from the center of the flower.
2. Irregular flower – a flower in which one or more members of at least one whorl are of a
different forms or size from others.
a. Papilionaceous – the standard petal or banner is usually the large and most striking. The
two wings or alae are lateral, and a keel is present. (examples: batao and sitao flower)
b. Caesalpinaceous – the standard petal is the smallest and innermost. The two wings and
two keels are almost the same in size and shape. (examples: fire tree and caballero)
c. Orchidaceous – the flower has three petals; one is very much different in size and shape
and is called the lip or labellum.

SYMMETRY

1. Radial symmetry – symmetry in which a flower is divisible on more than one axis into two
equal halves that are mirror images of each other. This is also known as regular or actinomorphic
symmetry.
2. Bilateral symmetry – symmetry in which a flower is distinctly divisible into right and left sides.
It also known as irregular or zygomorphic symmetry.

POSTION OF THE OVARY

1. Perigynous – a flower in which the ovary is half-interior but the bases of the stamens, petals,
and sepals develop as a floral cup around the ovary.
2. Hypogynous – a flower in which the ovary is superior, with the stamens, petals, and sepals
arising from a level below the base of the ovary.
3. Epigynous – a flower in which the ovary is inferior, with the stamens, petals. snd sepals arising
from a level above the base of the ovary.

PLACENTATION

The part of the ovary where the ovule is attached to is called the placenta.placentation maybe:

1. Marginal – the ovules are attached to vertical rows or rows along the ovary wall.
2. Parietal – in a compound pistil, the carpels are joined margin to margin and the placenta is
situated on the ovary walls.
3. Basal – found in both simple and compound carpels, with one locule in the ovary. The ovule is
attached to the base of the ovary.
4. Axile – the ovules are attached to the middle of the ovary, where the septae of a compound
pistil are joined.

FUSION OF FLORAL PARTS

 3. Adnation – when unlike parts like petals and sepals are fused.
4. Connation – when like parts are fused, as in the petals of anthurium.

INFLORESCENCE
A plant may produced flowers singly t the end of the main root, at the end of branch shoot, or in
the axils of leaves. Flowers may also occur in groups or clusters.

KINDS OF INFLORESCENCE

1. Spike – elongated axis, flowers are sessile or without stalk.

2. Spadix – a spike with a fleshy axis, enclosed by a large, often brightly-colored bract called
spathe.
3. Catkin – a spike with a long and pendulous axis, bears unisexual flower only.
4. Raceme – elongated axis, bears a number of flowers which are all stalked, the lower flowers
having longer stalks than the upper.
5. Panicle – main axis of the flower is branched and the lateral branches bears the stalked flowers.
6. Cyme – the main axis ends in flower that opens before the flower below or in its side open.
7. Corymb – the main axis is comparatively short.
8. Umbel – the primary axis is shortened and bears at its tip a group of flower which have pedicels
of more or less equal lengths that they appear to spread out from a common point.
9. Capitulum or head – the main axis is suppressed, becoming almost flat.

OTHER TYPES

1. Cyathium – consist of a cup-shaped involucres formed by fused heads

2. Verticillaster – with a cluster od sessile flowers in the axil of a leaf forming whorl at the node.
3. Hypanthodium – fleshy receptacle forms a hollow cavity which is more or less pear-shaped
and has a narrow opening.

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN FLOWERING PLANTS

The floral organs essential for sexual reproduction are the stamen and pistil

THE STAMEN
 Each stamen consist of an anther and a stalk calld a filament. The anthee has four elongated and
connected lobes called pollen sacs. Each pollen sac consist a mass of dividing cells called
microsporocyte.

THE PISTIL

The structure of the pistil depends on the number and arrangement of carpels. It consist of three
parts; a) ovary, the expanded basal portion; b) style; c) stamina column, a slender stalk; and d) stigma,
the sticky structure at the tip of the style.

POLLINATION
The process of transferring pollen grin from the stamen to the stigma of a flower is called
pollination. There are two types of pollination:

1. Self-pollination – the transfer of the pollen from the stamen to the stigma of the same flower
or the stigma of another flower of the same plant.
2. Cross-pollination – the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of flowers found in
separate plants.

Pollination is effective by different vectors or agents like wind, insects, birds and man.

POLLEN TUBE GROWTH AND FERTILIZATION

After the pollen grains lands on the stigma of the pistil, the following events occur:

1. The pollen grain on the stigma absorbs water, swells, elongates, germinates and forms a pollen
tube, which grows down through the style by enzymatically digesting some stylar cells, and
finally enters the ovary.
2. The pollen tube enters the microspyle of an ovule and releases into the embryo sac the two
sperm nuclei.
3. One haploid sperm nucleus fuses with the haploid egg nucleus, forming a diploid zygote (2N)
or a fertilized egg.
4. The second sperm nucleus fuses with two polar nuclei to form the triploid endosperm (3N)
nuclei. This is known as triple fusion. Fertilization and triple fusion result in what we call
double fertilization.
 5. The antipodals, synergids, and tube nucleus finally disintegrate.
6. The zygote by a series of cell divisions develops into an embryo.

MONOECIOUS AND DIOECIOUS PLANTS

When both the male and the female flower are found in one plant, the plant is said to be
monoecious. If the male (stamen) and female (pistil) flowers are borne separately, the species is
dioecious.