- Petals are colorful and unique to every flower. Their shape and color sometimes determine which kind of pollinators will be attracted to them. For example, a trumpet-shaped flower like a lily, is very attractive to a long-billed bird like a hummingbird. The colors, scents and veins of flower petals are like guiding signs for pollinators.
- When you see a tiny rosebud, it has a tight, green covering. This covering is called the sepal, and its purpose is to protect the developing bud. The sepal is attached to a bulb-shaped piece at the top of the flower's stem, called the receptacle. The receptacle is where the all the other parts of the flower are attached. The receptacle sometimes becomes part of the plant's fruit, once the flower is pollinated.
- The pistil is the female reproductive organ of a flower and is divided into three parts. The stigma is the tiny opening at the top, like the rim of a vase. The edges of the pistil are sticky, to collect pollen. The stigma leads to the style, a long, tube-shaped neck that is lined with tiny hairs. The hairs keep the pollen moving downward toward the base of the pistil. The last part, at the bottom of the style, is the ovary, where eggs are manufactured. When the eggs are fertilized, the new seeds will develop in the ovary.
- Surrounding the pistil are several antennae-like structures called the stamens. The topmost part of a stamen, called the anther, is where the pollen waits to be picked up and delivered to a pistil.The anther is at the end of a tall stalk, called the filament. Like a wire filament, it is usually very fine. The stamens are the male reproductive part of the plant, and the pollen they manufacture contains sperm cells.
- When pollinators like birds and insects pollinate a flower, they do so by accident. These animals are attracted to flowers for their nectar, a sweet liquid that is made by the flower. When a bee or hummingbird goes to a flower for its nectar, some of the pollen from the flower may stick to its head, legs or body. As it moves from flower to flower, the pollen falls off, and sometimes finds its way into a pistil. When the sperm, in the form of pollen, combines with the egg in the ovary, fertilization occurs.
