PlantsandPeople

Flowers

WhyaFlower?

TheReproductiveStructureof
FloweringPlants:

Perianth
Petal:Corolla
Sepal:Calyx

FlowerAnatomy
Calyx:theouterwhorlofsepals;
typicallythesearegreen,butare
petallikeinsomespecies.

FlowerAnatomy
Corolla:thewhorlof
petals,whichareusually
thin,softandcoloredto
attractanimalsthathelp
theprocessofpollination.
Thecolorationmay
extendintotheultraviolet,
whichisvisibletothe
compoundeyesofinsects,
butnottotheeyesof
birds.

FlowerAnatomy
Androecium(fromGreek
androsoikia:man'shouse):
oneormorestamens,each
withafilamenttoppedbyan
antherwherepollenis
produced.
Pollencontainsthemale
gametes.

FlowerAnatomy
Gynoecium(fromGreekgynaikosoikia:woman's
house):allthefemalepartsthepistil(s)with
ovule(s)inside.

FlowerAnatomy
Thebasicunitofthefemalereproductive
structureisthecarpel.Eachphyscialbodyis
calledapistil.
Aflowermayhaveasinglecarpel,whichisa
simplepistil(unicarpellate),orseveralcarpels
unitedinonecompoundpistil(syncarpous),or
aclusterofununitedcarpels/pistils
(apocarpous)
Thestickytipofthepistil,thestigma,isthe
receptorofpollen.
Thesupportivestalk,thestyle,becomesthe
pathwayforpollentubestogrowfrompollen
grainsadheringtothestigma,totheovules,
containingthegametes,housedinsidethe
ovary.

FlowerAnatomy
carpel

fertilization

carpel structure

EvolutionoftheCarpel

Seefigures3.1and3.2inyourbook

FruitandSeedFormation
Afruitdevelopsfromanovary.Aseeddevelopsfromanovule.

FlowerStructureVariation

perfect
imperfect

imperfect

FlowerStructureVariation
OvaryPosition

A.ovarysuperior,floralpartshypogynous
B.ovaryinferior,floralpartsepigynous
C.ovaryhalfinferior
D.ovarysuperior,floralpartsperigynous,hypanthiumcupshaped

FlowerStructureVariation
Aflowerhavingsepals,petals,stamens,andpistils
iscomplete;ifaflowerislackingoneormoreof
thesewhorls,itissaidtobeincomplete.

complete
incomplete
nostamenspresent=incomplete

Inflorescences
Aninflorescenceisagrouporclusterofflowers.It
maybebranchedorunbranched.Modificationscan
involvethelength,variationsintheproportions,
compressions,andswellings,andtheorderinwhich
theflowersopen.
Usuallythemodificationshavebeenevolvedto
optimizetheplantsmethodofpollendispersal.

Inflorescences

raceme

spike

corymb

umbel

Inflorescences

spadix

head

catkin

PollenDispersalbyAnimals
Bees,Beetles,Bats,Birds,Butterflies,etc

Symmetry
Flowersthatareactinomorphichave
"radialsymmetry",meaningtheycanbe
dividedintosymmetricalhalvesbymore
thanonelongitudinalplanepassingthrough
theaxis,muchasapiecanbecutinto
severalequalandidenticalpieces.
Zygomorphicflowersare"yokeshaped
orhave"bilateralsymmetry,where
flowerscanbedividedbyonlyasingle
planeintotwomirrorimagehalves,much
likeayokeoraperson'sface.

DicotversusMonocot
Dicot

Monocot

LabObjectives
1.Flowersarearrangedingroupscalledinflorescences.Wewillexaminesome
inflorescencesparticulartocertainfamilieslaterinthesemester.Fornow,knowwhat
aninflorescenceisandwhichoneswelookedattoday.
2.DRAWalongitudinalsectionofatypicalflowerlabelingthefollowingparts:
receptacle,calyx,sepals,corolla,petals,perianth,pedicel,ovary,ovule,style,stigma,
pistil,gynoecium,anther,filament,stamen,andandroecium.
3.EXAMINEbydissectionthefloralmaterialprovidedmakinglongandcrosssections
ofthefloweranditsparts.Onaseparatesheetofpaper,SKETCHtheflowersand
labeltheparts.Then,FOREACHFLOWER,answerthefollowingquestions:
A.Isthefloweractinomorphic(regular)orzygomorphic(irregular)?
B.Howmanysepalsarepresent?Petals?Stamens?Carpels?Tocountcarpels,count
thelocules,styles,stylebranches,and/orthezonesofplacentationbycross
sectioningtheovary.
C.Istheovaryinferiororsuperior?
D.Istheflowerfromamonocotyledonousordicotyledonousplant?
E.Istheflowerperfect(bothsexespresent)orimperfect?Complete(allfourfloral
whorls)orincomplete?