Top Four Parts of a Flower
Every spring, flowers appear and bloom, displaying their colorful, unique shapes. They attract pollinators like bees and butterflies.
Parts of a Flower, A flower is made up of four basic plant parts, sepals, petals, stamen and pistil (also known as a carpel). An incomplete flower lacks one or more of these basic structures.
Petals
A flower is made up of four key parts: petals, sepals, stamens, and pistil. Parts of a Flower, Flowers that have all of these parts are considered to be complete.
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of a flower and are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. They are collectively called the Corolla.
They also secrete nectar and perfume to attract insects and birds needed for cross-pollination. Once fertilization has occurred the petals usually drop off.
The petals are the most conspicuous part of a flower, owing to their vivid colors and sometimes scent. They are also a major part of the attraction for pollinators, especially in wind-pollinated flowers.
Sepals
A flower is a complex structure that includes parts such as sepals, petals, stamens, and pistil. Each part of a flower is essential to its function, and flowers that lack one or more of these parts are said to be incomplete.
Sepals, or leaf-like structures at the base of a flower, protect the bud and flower from harsh environmental conditions until they bloom. They also serve as thorns and help ward off predators like insects, birds, or honey bees.
A flower’s sepals may be free (polysepalous) or fused together (gamosepalous). Some plants have modified sepals that are bigger and more colorful than petals to attract pollinators.
Stamens
Flowers are the reproductive parts of plants that produce seeds. They also provide food and shelter for the plant and often help attract pollinators, such as bees or butterflies.
A flower has male and female parts similar to those of animals, with the stamens (male) surrounding the pistil (female). The anther and filament support a specialized structure called a microsporangium, which contains microspore mother cells that develop into pollen grains.
The anther contains a lining that contains the highly nutritious tissue, or tapetum, required for pollen production and development. The anther opens by slits or other mechanisms that release pollen grains, which travel down the filament to the style and ovary.
A flower can be either bisexual (containing both carpels and stamens) or unisexual (with one or fewer floral whorls). Animal-pollinated flowers are typically modified in ways that attract pollinators, such as bright colors, patterns, rewards (nectar-producing tissues), and enticing fragrances.
Pistil
The pistil is the female reproductive structure in flowers. It is a complex combination of three parts, namely the ovary (containing potential seeds or ovules), a stalk-like style arising from the ovary, and a pollen-receptive tip called a stigma.
The stigma sits on the ovary and holds up the style to receive pollen. This allows the pollen to be transferred to the ovule, which is then fertilized and produces seeds.
A pistil may be simple, composed of a single carpel, ovule-bearing modified leaf; or compound, formed from several carpels joined together.
In some species, the sepals and petals are fused, which results in a wholly or partially fused flower. The harebell flower in this image is one such example.