Flowers: are the reproductive apparatus of flowering plants (angiosperms). This image shows a generalised structure of an imaginary plant. The most obvious parts of a flower are the petals, shown here in brilliant pink. These are often colourful and can attract insects to help in pollination. Pollen is shown leaving the anthers at upper left and pollen is shown landing on the stigma at top middle.
Flower Structure: see an interactive labelled flower
- STEM: the flower is supported on a stem
- RECEPTACLE: the swollen top of stem that bears the flower structures
- SEPALS: lower whorl of modified leaves (often green as in this image)
- PETALS: upper whorl of modified leaves (often brightly coloured in this image)
- STAMENS: male part
- FILAMENT: long, thin supporting structure (shown as very pale green)
- ANTHER: source of pollen (shown as brown elongate structures with yellow dots)
- PISTIL: female part
- OVULE: contains the egg cell and accessory cells
- OVARY: swollen lower part of pistil
- STYLE: elongate middle part of pistil
- STIGMA: upper swollen part of pistil (pollen lands here)
In some flowers, the sepals and petals are almost identical (e.g. lily).
Image on thie page is 500 pixels across, the original is 4096 pixels across.
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