What Are Some Flowering Plants?

Flowering plants grow throughout much of the planet.

About 90 percent of plants are flowering, producing often beautiful, colorful or fragrant flowers, which are the plant's sexual reproductive organs. Scientists have described more than 250,000 species of flowering plants, with some tropical species not yet named. The sunflower, orchid and pea families make up about 25 percent of flowering plants. Flowering plants thrive in almost every place and climate on Earth, to the delight of home gardeners, commercial growers and lovers of beauty everywhere.

Sunflower Family (Asteraceae)

Fields of sunflowers brighten summer vistas in many parts of the world.

Bright, cheery yellow flowers are immediately associated with sunflowers. Summer fields throughout much of the world are brightened with wild or cultivated varieties. Sunflowers produce seeds and oil commercially. Sunflowers range from the size of a child's thumbnail to a dinner platter. Among the widely cultivated garden flowers in the sunflower family are dahlias, chrysanthemums, cosmos, daisies, marigolds and zinnias. Fragrant sagebrush, as well as ragweed, thistle and dandelion, are all members of this large and diverse family.

Orchid Family (Orchidaceae)

Commercially cultivated orchids are widely available for sale.

There are some 25,000 species described in the Orchidaceae family. Orchids are widely distributed throughout tropical and temperate regions. Their roots take up nutrients through infection with mycorrhizal fungi. With 28,000 species and more than 300,000 registered cultivars, orchids comprise a huge group of flowering plants. Orchids flowers have long been commercially cultivated for the florist trade. Orchid plants have become readily available and are successfully grown in homes. Phalaenopsis and Epidendrum orchids are suitable for first-time growers, adapting well to home conditions. For more experienced growers, the large flowering Cattleyas and white or lavender Dendrobuims may be grown in the home. Oncidium orchids have dainty blossoms and are suitable for home cultivation.

Pea Family (Fabaceae)

Delightfully fragrant sweet peas are grown for their ornamental qualities.

With more than 18,000 described species, the family Fabaceae is the third-largest flowering plant family in the world. The fruits of plants in this family are called legumes, or pods. Peanuts, green beans, snow peas and soybeans are all commercially important food products of the flowering pea family. Also included in this family are the Cercis trees (redbud), and the palo verde tree with its unique green trunk, native to the Sonoran desert. Palo verde pods are edible. The summer flowering sweet pea, native to Italy, with its enchanting fragrance, is a member of this widely diverse family.

Rose Family ( Rosaceae)

Roses are grown throughout the world for their beautiful, often fragrant flowers.

Roses are grown privately and commercially throughout the world for their beautiful, fragrant flowers. Rose oil and rose water are also important commercial products. The rose family includes apples and crabapples, pears, quince, hawthorn and serviceberry, all of which produce pomes, or fleshy fruits. Jams and jellies are made from the pomes of Japanese flowering quince as well as loquat fruit (pome). Peaches, apricots, almonds and cherries are flowering and fruiting plants within the greatly diverse rose family.

References

• Wayne's Word; Diversity Of Flowering Plants; W.P. Armstrong, March 1998
• University of Illinois extension; Growing Orchids; April/ May 2002
• Wayne's Word; Rose Family: Rosaceae; Apples
• Wayne's Word; The Legume Family; Third Largest Plant Family on Earth; W. P. Armstrong
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Sweet Pea
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Rosaceae