Flower

-
Flower is a reproductive organ of most seed-bearing plants. Flowers carry out the multiple roles of sexual reproduction, seed development, and fruit production. Many plants produce highly visible flowers that have a distinctive size, color, or fragrance. Almost everyone is familiar with beautiful flowers such as the blossoms of roses, orchids, and tulips. But many plants—including oaks, beeches, maples, and grasses—have small, green or gray flowers that typically go unnoticed.

Whether eye-catching or inconspicuous, all flowers produce the male or female sex cells required for sexual reproduction. Flowers are also the site of fertilization, which is the union of a male and female sex cell to produce a fertilized egg. The fertilized egg then develops into an embryonic (immature) plant, which forms part of the developing seed. Neighboring structures of the flower enclose the seed and mature into a fruit.

Flowers play diverse roles in the lives of humans. Wildflowers of every hue brighten the landscape, and the attractive shapes and colors of cultivated flowers beautify homes, parks, and roadsides. The fleshy fruits that flowers produce, such as apples, grapes, strawberries, and oranges, are eaten worldwide, as are such hard-shelled fruits as pecans and other nuts. Flowers also produce wheat, rice, oats, and corn—the grains that are dietary mainstays throughout the world. People even eat unopened flowers, such as those of broccoli and cauliflower, which are popular vegetables. Natural dyes come from flowers, and fragrant flowers, such as jasmine and damask rose, are harvested for their oils and made into perfumes. Certain flowers, such as red clover blossoms, are collected for their medicinal properties, and edible flowers, such as nasturtiums, add color and flavor to a variety of dishes. Flowers also are used to symbolize emotions, as is evidenced by their use from ancient times in significant rituals, such as weddings and funerals.

See also:

Parts of a Flower
Sexual Reproduction
Flowering and the Life Cycle
Evolution of Flowers
Flowers and Extinction

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Plant: Cell Structure And Function

-
Image
Plant Cell Plant cells contain a variety of membrane-bound structures called organelles. These include a nucleus that carries genetic material; mitochondria that generate energy; ribosomes and rough endoplasmic reticulum that manufacture proteins; smooth endoplasmic reticulum that manufactures lipids used for making membranes and storing energy; and a thin lipid membrane that surrounds the cell. Plant cells also contain chloroplasts that capture energy from sunlight and a single fluid-filled vacuole that stores compounds and helps in plant growth. Plant cells are surrounded by a rigid cell wall that protects the cell and maintains its shape. The tremendous variety of plant species is, in part, a reflection of the many distinct cell types that make up individual plants. Fundamental similarities exist among all these cell types, however, and these similarities indicate the common origin and the interrelationships of the different plant species. Each individual plant cell is at ...
Read more

Monocot and Dicot Seeds

-
Image
Monocotyledons (monocots) and dicotyledons (dicots) make up the two large groups of flowering plants, differentiated by their seed structures. Monocot seeds contain one cotyledon, or embryonic leaf. When these seeds germinate, the cotyledon remains below ground, absorbing nutrients from the endosperm, the starchy food supply in the seed. The coytledon transports these nutrients to the developing seedling. Dicot seeds contain two coytledons, which absorb and store the nutrients from the endosperm before the seed germinates. The cotyledons, thick with stored nutrients, emerge above ground during germination, and then transport the stored nutrients to the developing seedling. For a brief time, the cotyledons also serve as the first photosynthesizing leaves, but they wither and die when the true leaves emerge. related articles: flower flower variations in structure flower sexual reproduction flower pollination and fertilization flowering and the life cycle evolution of flowers angios...
Read more

Insectivorous Plants

-
Image
Insectivorous Plants, also carnivorous plants, plants that gain some of their nutrition from animals, especially insects, captured by the plants themselves. Most occur in bogs where the soil is acid and poor in available nitrogen; capturing insects is one way of getting nitrogenous compounds without manufacturing them. At the same time, the green leaves of these plants manufacture carbohydrates. The trapping mechanism of insectivorous plants is relatively small. Therefore, prey is almost inevitably limited to small insects. Insectivorous plants are diverse and represent members of three orders of dicots : Nepenthales, Scrophulariales, and Rosales. A majority are in the Nepenthales, including the pitcher plant , sundews and the Venus's-flytrap, and East Indian pitcher plants. Others include the bladderworts, butterworts, and the Australian pitcher plant. Discussed below are the sundews and bladderworts. Certain species of fungus are known to be carnivorous as well. Venus’s-Flytrap...
Read more