🌺 flower 🌷

A flower, also known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). Flowers consist of a combination of vegetative organs – sepals that enclose and protect the developing flower, petals that attract pollinators, and reproductive organs that produce gametophytes, which in flowering plants produce gametes. The male gametophytes, which produce sperm, are enclosed within pollen grains produced in the anthers. The female gametophytes are contained within the ovules produced in the carpels.


Most flowering plants depend on animals, such as bees, moths, and butterflies, to transfer their pollen between different flowers, and have evolved to attract these pollinators by various strategies, including brightly colored, conspicuous petals, attractive scents, and the production of nectar, a food source for pollinators.[1] In this way, many flowering plants have co-evolved with pollinators to be mutually dependent on services they provide to one another—in the plant's case, a means of reproduction; in the pollinator's case, a source of food.[2]

When pollen from the anther of a flower is deposited on the stigma, this is called pollination. Some flowers may self-pollinate, producing seed using pollen from a different flower of the same plant, but others have mechanisms to prevent self-pollination and rely on cross-pollination, when pollen is transferred from the anther of one flower to the stigma of another flower on a different individual of the same species. Self-pollination happens in flowers where the stamen and carpel mature at the same time, and are positioned so that the pollen can land on the flower's stigma. This pollination does not require an investment from the plant to provide nectar and pollen as food for pollinators.[3] Some flowers produce diaspores without fertilization (parthenocarpy). After fertilization, the ovary of the flower develops into fruit containing seeds.

Flowers have long been appreciated by humans for their beauty and pleasant scents, and also hold cultural significance as religious, ritual, or symbolic objects, or sources of medicine and food.

Etymology
Flower is from the Middle English flour, which referred to both the ground grain and the reproductive structure in plants, before splitting off in the 17th century. It comes originally from the Latin name of the Italian goddess of flowers, Flora. The early word for flower in English was blossom,[4] though it now refers to flowers only of fruit trees.[5]

Morphology

Diagram of flower parts.
Main article: Floral morphology

The morphology of a flower, or its form and structure,[6] can be considered in two parts: the vegetative part, consisting of non-reproductive structures such as petals; and the reproductive or sexual parts. A stereotypical flower is made up of four kinds of structures attached to the tip of a short stalk or axis, called a receptacle. Each of these parts or floral organs is arranged in a spiral called a whorl.[7] The four main whorls (starting from the base of the flower or lowest node and working upwards) are the calyx, corolla, androecium, and gynoecium. Together the calyx and corolla make up the non-reproductive part of the flower called the perianth, and in some cases may not be differentiated. If this is the case, then they are described as tepals.[8]

Perianth
Main article: Perianth
Calyx
The sepals, collectively called the calyx, are modified leaves that occur on the outermost whorl of the flower. They are leaf-like, in that they have a broad base, stomata and chlorophyll[9] and may have stipules. Sepals are often waxy and tough, and grow quickly to protect the flower as it develops.[9][10] They may be deciduous, but will more commonly grow on to assist in fruit dispersal. If the calyx is fused together it is called gamosepalous.[9]

Corolla
The petals, together the corolla, are almost or completely fiberless leaf-like structures that form the innermost whorl of the perianth. They are often delicate and thin, and are usually coloured, shaped, or scented to encourage pollination.[11] Although similar to leaves in shape, they are more comparable to stamens in that they form almost simultaneously with one another, but their subsequent growth is delayed. If the corolla is fused together it is called sympetalous.[12]

Reproductive
Main article: Plant reproductive morphology

Reproductive parts of Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum). 1. Stigma, 2. Style, 3. Stamens, 4. Filament, 5. Petal
Androecium
The androecium, or stamens, is the whorl of pollen-producing male parts. Stamens consist typically of an anther, made up of four pollen sacs arranged in two thecae, connected to a filament, or stalk. The anther contains microsporocytes which become pollen, the male gametophyte, after undergoing meiosis. Although they exhibit the widest variation among floral organs, the androecium is usually confined just to one whorl and to two whorls only in rare cases. Stamens range in number, size, shape, orientation, and in their point of connection to the flower.[11][12]

In general, there is only one type of stamen, but there are plant species where the flowers have two types; a "normal" one and one with anthers that produce sterile pollen meant to attract pollinators.[13]

Gynoecium
The gynoecium, or the carpels, is the female part of the flower found on the innermost whorl. Each carpel consists of a stigma, which receives pollen, a style, which acts as a stalk, and an ovary, which contains the ovules. Carpels may occur in one to several whorls, and when fused are often described as a pistil. Inside the ovary, the ovules are attached to the placenta by structures called funiculi.[14][15]

Variation
Although this arrangement is considered "typical", plant species show a wide variation in floral structure.[16] The four main parts of a flower are generally defined by their positions on the receptacle and not by their function. Many flowers lack some parts or parts may be modified into other functions or look like what is typically another part.[17] In some families, such as the grasses, the petals are greatly reduced; in many species, the sepals are colorful and petal-like. Other flowers have modified stamens that are petal-like; the double flowers of Peonies and Roses are mostly petaloid stamens.[18]

Many flowers have symmetry. When the perianth is bisected through the central axis from any point and symmetrical halves are produced, the flower is said to be actinomorphic or regular. This is an example of radial symmetry. When flowers are bisected and produce only one line that produces symmetrical halves, the flower is said to be irregular or zygomorphic. If, in rare cases, they have no symmetry at all they are called asymmetric.[19][20]

Flowers may be directly attached to the plant at their base (sessile—the supporting stalk or stem is highly reduced or absent).[21] The stem or stalk subtending a flower, or an inflorescence of flowers, is called a peduncle. If a peduncle supports more than one flower, the stems connecting each flower to the main axis are called pedicels.[22] The apex of a flowering stem forms a terminal swelling which is called the torus or receptacle.[20]

In the majority of species, individual flowers have both pistils and stamens. These flowers are described by botanists as being perfect, bisexual, or hermaphrodite. In some species of plants, the flowers are imperfect or unisexual: having only either male (stamens) or female (pistil) parts. If unisexual male and female flowers appear on the same plant, the species is called monoecious.[23] However, if an individual plant is either female or male, the species is called dioecious. Many flowers have nectaries, which are glands that produce a sugary fluid used to attract pollinators. They are not considered as an organ on their own.[24]

Inflorescence
Main article: Inflorescence

The calla lily is not a single flower. It is actually an inflorescence of tiny flowers pressed together on a central stalk that is surrounded by a large petal-like bract.[25]
In those species that have more than one flower on an axis, the collective cluster of flowers is called an inflorescence. Some inflorescences are composed of many small flowers arranged in a formation that resembles a single flower. A common example of this is most members of the very large composite (Asteraceae) group. A single daisy or sunflower, for example, is not a flower but a flower head—an inflorescence composed of numerous flowers (or florets).[26] An inflorescence may include specialized stems and modified leaves known as bracts.[27]

Floral diagrams and formulae
Main articles: Floral formula and Floral diagram
A floral formula is a way to represent the structure of a flower using specific letters, numbers, and symbols, presenting substantial information about the flower in a compact form. It can represent a taxon, usually giving ranges of the numbers of different organs, or particular species. Floral formulae have been developed in the early 19th century and their use has declined since. Prenner et al. (2010) devised an extension of the existing model to broaden the descriptive capability of the formula.[28] The format of floral formulae differs in different parts of the world, yet they convey the same information.[29][30][31][32]

The structure of a flower can also be expressed by the means of floral diagrams. The use of schematic diagrams can replace long descriptions or complicated drawings as a tool for understanding both floral structure and evolution. Such diagrams may show important features of flowers, including the relative positions of the various organs, including the presence of fusion and symmetry, as well as structural details.[33