Two Most Important Parts of a Flower
Flowers are made up of many parts. For example, flowers feature petals, the colorful structures that make your room or garden attractive. In addition, green leaf-like structures called sepals cover the outside of flower buds to protect them before they open. However, two other parts of the flower are considered to be the most important. Does this Spark an idea?
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Female Parts
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One of the two most important parts of a flower is the female part. This female part is called the pistil. Every pistil is made up of one or multiple rolled, leaf-like structures. An important part of the pistil is the stigma, which is a sticky bulb in the center of each flower. This part of the flower receives, traps and holds the grains of pollen -- a sticky powder -- required in the flower reproduction process.
Other Female Parts
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The pistil also features the style and ovary. The style is a long, tube-like stalk on which the stigma sits. In addition, the style leads down to the ovary, a female part located at the bottom of the flower. The ovary has ovules inside, and these ovules actually become seeds that eventually turn into the fruit people eat.
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Male Part
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The other most important part of a flower is the male part, which is called the stamen. The number of stamen on a plant's flower usually is equal to the number of petals present. The stamen also features two parts known as the anther and filament. The anther is a yellow, pouch-like part that produces and contains pollen. This part sits atop a long stalk that resembles fine hair, called the filament.
Process
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The male and female parts essentially are the two most important parts of the flower because they facilitate the production of new seeds that develop into new plants through a process called pollination. This process keeps the plant species alive.
For a plant to be pollinated, pollen must move from the stamen to the stigma. When pollen from one plant's stamen reaches the stigma of another plant of the same species, cross-pollination occurs, and this produces stronger plants. Plants typically rely on animals or the wind to help with the pollination process, but humans additionally can transfer pollen from one flower to another.
In addition, imperfect flowers are those that have either all male parts or all female parts, such as melons, pumpkins or cucumbers, and thus require cross-pollination to reproduce. Meanwhile, perfect flowers have both female parts and male parts in the same flower and can reproduce through self-pollination. These flowers include dandelions, lilies and roses.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images
