Introduction
Is it true that plants create flowers solely to delight us? Because of its lovely beauty and aroma, the blossom is the most appealing part of the plant. And it’s not just the flowers’ elegance that makes them unique. Flowers are a plant’s reproductive organs. These are food for a variety of insects and even some mammals, as well as being utilised by humans for a variety of purposes.
Flowers are priceless natural gifts with distinct appearance and lovely fragrances. Pollination is the process by which flowers create new seeds. Flowers are one of the most important components of a flowering plant’s morphology.
Flowers are borne by all vascular and blooming plants (angiosperms), and flowering plants first originated roughly 140 million years ago, according to records. Flowering plants, often known as angiosperms, number over 400,000 species worldwide.
Definition of a Flower
We can explain flower as a specialised component located in flowering plants that contains reproductive organs and participates in the reproduction process. It plays a role in the development of fruits and seeds. Flowering plants are sometimes referred to as angiosperms. Flowers are the reproductive components of angiosperms, which reproduce by sexual reproduction. Flowers can have stamen (which produces male gametes) or carpel (which produces female gametes), or both. Flowers can thus be considered the plant’s primary reproductive organ.
Types of Flower
Flowers are categorised as follows based on the existence or disappearance of male and female reproductive parts:
- Bisexual or perfect flower: A bisexual or perfect flower has both stamen and pistil.
- Unisexual: the unisexual flower is one which lacks one of the reproductive components (male or female).
Longitudinal Section of Flower – Parts of the Flower
The pedicle is a stalk that supports each bloom. Each stalk leads to the flower’s large basal area. The thalamus is the name for this portion of the brain. However there are various parts of flower that are given below.
- Sepals (Calyx): The outer whorl of the flower is made up of little leaf-like green structures called sepals. They serve as a foundation for the floral portion. Sepal can be found around the stalk’s base.
- Petals (Corolla): The secondary whorl within the sepals is made up of flat, colourful, and usually big sections. Petals have a strong perfume or odour that attracts pollinators such as insects and other vectors.
The non-essential floral organs are sepals and petals. Because they are involved in sexual reproduction, stamen and carpels are crucial floral organs.
- Androecium: The androecium is made up of stamens, which are male reproductive organs in plants. The third whorl is formed by these, which are found inside the petals. Stamens are made up of two parts: a filament, which is a thin stalk, and an anther, which is the fertile component at the filament’s tip. A sterile band termed connective connects these sections.
All of the anther’s lobes have 4 pollen sacs. A mitotic division of diploid microspore mother cells produces several haploid pollen grains in these pollen sacs. When pollen grains reach full maturity, they include two types of cells: generative and tube cells. The generative cell divides after pollination and produces male gametes within the pollen tube.
- Carpel: Carpel (also known as Pistil) is the female reproductive component of plants, and the gynoecium is made up of them. The 4th and deepest whorl of a flower is this. Flowers are categorised into three categories dependent on the amount of carpels: monocarpellary, bicarpellary, and polycarpellary. Carpel is made up of three parts:
- Ovary: A flower’s ductless reproductive gland, which is important in the development of seeds. It’s The gland also serves as a storage areas for eggs and ovules.
- Style: The pistil’s adapted section, that is a long, tube-like slender stalk. It connects the stigma to the ovary, which houses the female egg cells known as ovules.
- Stigma: The adaptable component of the pistil found in the female reproductive portions of a flower at the highest part or receptive tip of carpels.
- Anther: A 4 lob sac-like structure that is responsible for pollen grain synthesis and storage.
- Filament: Connected to the anther, this thread-like structure serves to keep the anther in place.
- Stamen: Stamen is also known as Androecium, and it is the male reproductive portion of a flower. Anther and filament make up the majority of it.
Conclusion
Because of its lovely beauty and aroma, the flower is the most appealing part of the plant. Flowers are one of the most important components of a flowering plant’s morphology. The term “flower,” as it is often used, refers to a reproductive structure that is unique in colour and form. The androecium is made up of stamens, which are male reproductive organs in plants. A flower’s ductless reproductive gland, which is important in the development of seeds. Stamen: Stamen is also known as Androecium, and it is the male reproductive portion of a flower.