Flower Structure and Reproduction
Ever wonder how that apple or orange got started? It all began as a flower! Flowers are the reproductive structures of plants called angiosperms—plants that produce flowers and fruits. They're often colorful to attract pollinators like insects, birds, and even mammals.
A flower attaches to the plant via the receptacle, the base that supports all flower parts. Surrounding the flower are green sepals that protected it before blooming. The colorful petals attract pollinators, though not all flowers are bright—some rely on wind or water for pollination instead of animals.
Flowers contain both male and female parts. The female structures are called carpels, often fused together to form the pistil. The pistil has three parts: the sticky stigma that catches pollen, the style (a tube connecting to the ovary), and the ovary that contains ovules (eggs). The male structures are stamens, consisting of an anther that produces pollen and a supporting filament.
💡 When you eat a fruit, you're actually eating the developed ovary of a flower! Fruits are simply structures that enclose and protect seeds, which developed from fertilized ovules.
Sexual reproduction in plants happens when pollen from an anther reaches the stigma of a flower. Plants can self-fertilize (pollen fertilizes the same flower) or cross-fertilize (pollen from one plant fertilizes another). After fertilization, the ovules develop into seeds, and the ovary develops into fruit while the petals fall away.