Flowers are the reproductive structures produced by plants which belong to the group known

as Angiosperms, or 'Flowering Plants'. This group includes an enormous variety of different

plants ranging from buttercups and orchids to oak trees and grasses. There are about 250,000
known species.
A flower is basically made up of four concentric
rings of structures. There is an outer ring of
modified leaves called sepals. These provide
protection to the flower before it opens and are
usually green. This outer ring is known as the
calyx.
Inside the sepals is another ring of modified
leaves called petals which are often brightly
coloured. This layer is known as the corolla.
Within the corolla are one or more stamens
containing pollen, which are the male
reproductive structures.
In the very centre of the flower are the female
reproductive organs

Flower Anatomy

The Flower:
The flower is the reproductive unit of some plants (angiosperms). Parts of the flower include
petals, sepals, one or more carpels (the female reproductive organs), and stamens (the male
reproductive organs).
The Female Reproductive Organs:
The pistil is the collective term for the carpel(s). Each carpel includes an ovary (where the ovules
are produced; ovules are the female reproductive cells, the eggs), a style (a tube on top of the
ovary), and a stigma (which receives the pollen during fertilization).
The Male Reproductive Organs:
Stamens are the male reproductive parts of flowers. A stamen consists of an anther (which
produces pollen) and a filament. The pollen consists of the male reproductive cells; they fertilize
ovules.
Fertilization:
Pollen must fertilize an ovule to produce a viable seed. This process is called pollination, and is
often aided by animals like bees, which fly from flower to flower collecting sweet nectar. As they
visit flowers, they spread pollen around, depositing it on some stigmas. After a male's pollen
grains have landed on the stigma during fertilization, pollen tubes develop within the style,

burrowing down to the ovary, where the sperm fertilizes an ovum (an egg cell), in the ovule.
After fertilization, the ovule develops into a seed in the ovary.

Flower Definition
Flowers are the reproductive organs of plants. Flower is the modified vegetative shoot and is
meant for sexual reproduction. Flower arises from a modified leaf called bract. It consists of a
very short axis on which whorls of different parts of the flower are present.

Parts of a Flower
Flowers are diverse in gross appearance but the basic parts which make up the flower are basic
throughout. Flower is the specialized and modified shoot. The following are the recognized parts
of the flower:

Peduncle: Peduncle is the stalk of a flower.

Receptacle : Receptacle is the stem portion, it is found at the base in the center of the flower.
The internodes are short and the number of leaves is small. Hence, receptacle is not usually a
large part of the flower.

Sepals : Sepals form the outermost whorl of the floral structure. They are mostly but not always
green and are leaf-like in appearance. Sepals are similar to the foliage leaves of the plant. Sepals
are collectively known as the Calyx. The major function of the calyx is the protection of flower
parts during early development of the flower or the bud.

Petals
Petals are present above the sepals whorl. Petals are
larger than the sepals, they are brightly colored, leaflike, broad and are thin organs. The petals collectively
are known as the Corolla. Corolla is the attractive part
of the flower. They provide additional protection and
attract insects to facilitate pollination of the flower.
The leaf-like organs, the sepals and the petals are
together known as the perianth of the flower. They are
similar in appearance.

Carpels : Carpels are one or more in number and are

located in the upper center of the flower. Collectively the carpels are known as gynoecium.
Carpels are made of three parts: Ovary. Style and Stigma.

Ovary is the structure present at the base of the carpel. It is an enlarged narrow region bearing one or more
ovules.

Style is the slender, neck-like portion of the carpel the leads to the ovary.

Stigma is of variety of shapes and sizes. It present at the tip of the carpel and is sticky to collect pollen
grains.

Stamens
Stamens are located inside the corolla and are leaf-like appearance. Stamens are the male part of
the flower and produces pollen. Stamens consists of a filament and an anther. Stamens are
collectively called androecium.
Anther is the sac located at the tip of the filament that contains pollen.

Filament is the stalk that connects to and holds up the anther.

Nectaries are often associated with flowers and are found at the receptacle, nectaries produce sugary nectar
which attracts insects.

Calyx: Sepals are collectively known as calyx. It forms the outermost whorl of a flower.
They are usually green in color and their typical function is protection for the flower in bud stage
and also supports the petals when in bloom. Morphologically sepals are modified leaves.

Corolla

Corolla makes up the second whorl of the flower and it is composed of petals. They
are brightly colored, making the corolla conspicuous, and attractive. Petals are also
scented in many cases. They help attracting insects for pollination.

Bougainvillea
Flowers
Although you'll notice the colorful parts of a bougainvillea plant first, its true flowers are tiny
and inconspicuous. Considered a "perfect" flower in botanical terms, the flower contains both the
male sexual structure, or stamen, and the female sexual structure, or pistil. Bougainvillea flowers
are trumpet-shaped, white or yellow-white, waxy and less than 1 inch long. They typically
develop in a triangularly arranged group of three flowers on a single short stem. Two of these
three flowers usually open at the same time, with the third opening slightly later.
Seeds
Although bougainvillea flowers contain both male and female components, they are not selffertile, and need cross-pollination from other bougainvillea plants to produce seeds. The
bougainvillea flower makes nectar that attracts butterflies, moths and hummingbirds, which often
carry pollen on their bodies, distributing it among nearby plants. The flower's nectar is kept in a
structure called a nectary, which is a swollen area at the base of the tubular flower. The nectary
has a long, thin neck accessible to these pollinators. When pollen from another plant is deposited
on the surface of the flower's pistil, it grows down into the base of the pistil, called its ovary,
where fertilization occurs and seeds develop.
Bracts
Although not technically part of the bougainvillea flower, specialized leaves called bracts
surround the tiny true flowers. Bracts come in many bright colors, making bougainvillea a
strikingly colorful garden plant. Three papery-looking bracts surround each group of three tiny
flowers. Each bract has a central vein, with several spider-like, small veins radiating from it.
Although the bracts are leaves, they don't photosynthesize the way most leaves do. Instead, their
main function is to protect the tiny flowers that they surround and they also help attract
pollinating insects and hummingbirds to the plant with their bright colors.