The flowering plants (angiosperms), also known as

Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group

of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the
gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the
gymnosperms by a series of derived characteristics..
The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from gymnosperms
around 245202 million years ago, and the first flowering
plants known to exist are from 140 million years ago. They
diversified enormously during the Lower Cretaceous and
became widespread around 100 million years ago, but
replaced conifers as the dominant trees only around 60-100
million years ago.

The flowers, which are the reproductive organs, aid angiosperms by enabling a wider range of
adaptability and broadening the ecological niches open to them. This has allowed flowering
plants to largely dominate terrestrial ecosystems.
Stamens with two pairs of pollen sacs have contributed to the diversification of angiosperms
through time with adaptations.
The male gametophyte in angiosperms is significantly reduced in size compared to those of
gymnosperm seed plants. The smaller pollen decreases the time from pollination to
fertilisation.
The closed carpel of angiosperms also allows adaptations to specialized pollination syndromes
and controls. This helps to prevent self-fertilization, thereby maintaining increased diversity.
Once the ovary is fertilized, the carpel and some surrounding tissues develop into a fruit. This
fruit often serves as an attractant to seed-dispersing animals.
The reduced female gametophyte, like the reduced male gametophyte, may be an adaptation
allowing for more rapid seed set, eventually leading to flowering plant adaptations .
Endosperm formation begins after fertilization and before the first division of the zygote.
Endosperm is a highly nutritive tissue that can provide food for the developing embryo, the
cotyledons, and sometimes the seedling when it first appears.
These distinguishing characteristics taken together have made the angiosperms the most diverse
and numerous land plants.


1.
2.

There are two types of angiosperms , based on

the number of cotyledons present:
Monocots (Monocotyledons )
Dicots ( Dicotyledons )

Embryo with single cotyledon

Pollen with three furrows or pores
Flower parts in multiples of three
Major leaf veins parallel
Stem vascular bundles scattered
Roots are adventitious
Secondary growth absent

Embryo with two cotyledons

Pollen with three furrows or pores
Flower parts in multiples of four or five
Major leaf veins reticulated
Stem vascular bundles in a ring
Roots develop from radicle
Secondary growth often present

Monocots

Dicots

Roots, which are generally underground and

serve to absorb water and nutrients
Stems, which come in various types such as:

stolon, an above-ground runner

rhizome, an underground runner
bulb, a fleshy stem modified for nutrient storage

Leaves, which can be either simple or compound in

form and which alternate with each other going up the
stem or can be arranged opposite each other on the
stem or as whorled leaves where more than two
originate from the same place on the stem
Leaves can be many shapes from round to heartshaped to oblong. Leaves which are entire, all in one
piece, are called simple leaves, while those divided into
multiple leaflets are called compound leaves.
Compound leaves with their leaflets arranged like a
feather are said to be pinnately compound while leaves
with their leaflets arranged like a persons fingers are
said to be palmately compound. Leaves that arise from
the branch/stem in pairs are referred to as opposite
leaves, while those which alternate sides up the stem
are referred to as alternate leaves, and if more than two
leaves arise from the same spot, those leaves are said to
be whorled.

Types of Leaves

Flowers, which are the reproductive structures of

an angiosperm and consist of four whorls of
modified leaves (from outside in):

Sepals (, which are often small and green but are colored

like the petals in tulips and lilies, and which generally

enclose the flower before it opens
Petals (which are often brightly colored to attract
pollinators (insects, birds, etc.) and may be very simple
to highly modified
Stamens the male reproductive organs (they make
microspores which turn into male gametophytes), which
consist of a stalk (the filament) and a tip (the anther)
where the microspores are produced and turn into
pollen
Pistil or carpel , which consists of: Ovary the bottom
end where seeds are produced Style the stalk portion
Stigma the outer, sticky tip where pollen sticks when it
lands or is placed there

Types of Flowers

Complete

Imperfect

Incomplete

Regular

Perfect

Irregular

Fruit, which is a ripened (mature) ovary (in which

seeds develop/are found) and which serves as
protection and means of dispersal for the seeds
various types of fruits include:
Simple fruits arise from one ovary in one flower.

Examples include cucumber, peapod, walnut, tomato,

orange, cherry, apple, dandelion, and maple helicopter.
There are a number of types of simple fruit, each with its
own official name.
Aggregate fruits arise from several ovaries in one flower.
Examples include raspberry and strawberry.
Multiple fruits arise from ovaries in several, tightlyclustered flowers which grow together into one fruit.
Examples include pineapple, mulberry, and breadfruit.

Types of Fruits

Angiosperms have alternation of generations with the 2n sporophyte being the dominant
generation. The anthers, which are the equivalent of microsporangia, produce microspores by
meiosis, and the microspores develop into male gametophytes (pollen).
The ovaries produce megaspores which grow into female gametophytes, each of which then
produces an egg.
By some means (wind or an animal pollinator), the pollen is transferred to the stigma of the
pistil, and a pollen tube grows down into the ovary. Eventually, two sperm nuclei travel down
the pollen tube. Pollination is the transfer of the male gametophyte (pollen) to the stigma of
the female, while fertilization is when the sperm nucleus and egg nucleus unite
Angiosperms have an unusual thing called double fertilization. When the sperm nuclei reach
the female gametophyte, one sperm nucleus and the egg cell unite to form a new 2n zygote
(which grows into an embryo). The other sperm nucleus and two nuclei from the female
gametophyte join to form 3n endosperm which often serves as food for the embryo.

Life Cycle of
Angiosperms