Botany - Flowers

• flower - part of the shoot system specializing in sexual reproduction
• pedicel - the stalk that holds the flower
• receptacle - somewhat enlarged tip of the pedicel from which the floral parts arise
• sepal - one of the several leaf-like structures that make up the outermost circle of the floral parts. usually green in color and protects the flower while it is still a bud
• calyx - collective term for all sepals
• petal - one of the colored leaf-like structures that occurs in one/more circles w/in the sepals
• corolla - collective term for all petals
• perianth - collective term for the sepals and petals
• pistil (carpel) - the seed bearing organ of the flower; usually pear-shaped and found at the center of the flower
• pistil is composed of ovary, style, and stigma
• collective term for pistil is gynoecium
• when the carpels are united, the gynoecium is described as synocarpous; when free, the gynoecium is desrcibed as apocarpous
• ovary - the enlarged basal part of the pistil, it can have 1/more locule (cavities) containing ovules that develop into seed after fertilization
• ovules - the structure in the ovary that develops into a seed after fertilization
• style - long and slender neck-like part extending from the ovary, it serves as a passageway for the pollen from the stigma to the ovary
• stamen - the essential male part of the flower consisting of an anther and a filament.
• the anther and the filament are collectively called androecium
• anther - where pollen grains are produced. it is suppored by the slender filament and usuallt consists of 4 pollen sacs
• filament - the slender stalk that supports the anther
• pollen grain - microsporangia,

  ovules - megasporangia
• a flower is a "complete flower" of it has all the 4 essential floral parts; the sepal, petal, stamen and pistil
• incomplete flower - a flower that lacks one/more of the 4 floral parts
• perfect flower - a flower w/ both the stamen and the pistil (may lack sepals and petals)
• perfect flower is also called bisexual flowers
• imperfect flower - a flower that bears either the stamen/pistil. They flower may be staminate/pistillate.
• imperfect flower is also called unisexual flower
• classification of flowers based on the presence/absence of floral parts

  • complete flower
  • incomplete flower
  • perfect
  • imperfect
• classification of flowers based on the size and shape of floral parts;

  • regular flower
  • irregular
• types of irregular flowers

  • papilionaceous
  • caesalpinaceous
  • orchidaceous
• regular flower - a flower in which the corolla is made up of similarly-shaped petals equally spaced and radiating from the center of the flower
• irregular flower - a flower in which 1/more members of at least one whorl are of a different form/size from others
• papilionaceous - the standard petal/banner is usually the largest and the most striking. the 2 wings/alae are lateral and a keel is present
• keel/carinae - 2 innermost and smallest petal in papilionaceous
• caesalpinaceous - the standard petal is the smallest and innermost. the 2 wings and the 2 keels are almost the same in size and shape
• in caesalpinaceous, the banner is the innermost and smallest petal
• orchidaceous - the flower has 3 petals; one is very much different in size and shape and is called the lip/labellum
• classification of flowers based on symmetry

  • radial
  • bilateral
• radial symmetry - symmetry in which a flower is divisible on more than 1 axis into 2 equal halves that are mirror images of each other
• radial symmetry is also known as regular/actinomorphic symmetry
• bilateral symmetry - symmetry in which a flower is distinctly divisible into right and left sides, divisible into mirror images on only 1 axis