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Flower

flowerA flower is also known as bloom or blossom. There is a huge variety of flowers with different colors and scents. As it is the basic reproductive organ of the plant, it supports the entire growth process. The flower is found in every botanical garden, park, forest, Mountains, gross, and different natural places wherever a plant exists.

What is A Flower?

A flower is the reproductive part of Flowering Plants. They mostly contain both male and female parts. When the pollen from the male part reaches the female part, the flower is fertilized. As a result, it gives seeds or fruits from which the next generation of that plant is born.

Parts Of A Flower

parts-of-flowerThe parts of a flower are mainly divided into two categories, which are:

  • Vegetative Parts
  • Reproductive Parts

Vegetative Parts

The vegetative parts of a flower are those which enable and protect its growth. They are the outermost parts of a flower. The calyx is a main vegetative part based on sepals. And corolla is another vegetative part based on petals. These parts cover the reproductive parts to save them from bugs.

Sepals

Sepals are a modified form of leaves that are located on the base of a flower. They are mostly green in color, but can also have other colors. Their purpose is to protect the flower during its development. They are collectively known as calyx.

Petals

Petals are also a modified form of leaves that are located around the reproductive parts of a flower. Petals can be of different colors and help to attract the pollinators like bees and other insects. Besides the color, petals also have different scents in them. They are collectively known as the corolla.

Reproductive Parts

They are two types of reproductive parts; male and female parts. The interaction of these parts starts the process of fertilization in which seeds and fruits develop.

Male Parts

stamen-anther-filamentThe male parts in a flower are called androecium. They contain three units called stamen, anther, and filament. Their work is to produce and transfer the pollen to female parts during the process of pollination. Pollen is in the form of a powder that contains male DNA and it needs to reach the female part for fertilization.

  • Stamen – It is an organ of a flower that produces pollen for reproduction. It consists of anther and filaments. It works for transporting water, salt, and other nutrients from the filament to the anther. Moreover, stamen helps the anther in maintaining its position for ejecting the pollens.
  • Anther – It is the top part of the stamen which produces pollen. It has two round-shaped structures that contain spores or structures with holes. These spores produce pollens from them during the time of pollination.
  • Filaments – It is a long and thin structure located below the anther. It is also a part of stamen, and supports the anther to stay on top. Moreover, filaments provide a path for sex cells to travel through it to the anther from the bottom of a flower.

Female Parts

Female parts of a flower are called gynoecium.  These parts Work for the growth of an egg in the ovule of a flower and play their part during the process of pollination.

  • Pistil – The pistil is the main female organ in the flower. It consists of stigma, style, and ovary and they are collectively called carpels. Like the stamen in the male organ of a flower, the pistil is exactly opposite to it in the female part of a flower. Its work is to receive pollen from the male organ during pollination and transmit them down to the stigma and the ovary.
  • Stigma – Like the anther of the male organ of a flower, the stigma is also located on top of the female organ. The stigma has to catch the pollen from the male organ by various methods and send them down to the ovary through style.
  • Style – The style is the middle part of a female flower. It looks like a stalk structure and connects stigma with the ovary. Like filament in the male organ of a flower, style serves the same purpose in the female organ of a flower. It helps deliver the pollens from stigma to the ovary.
  • Ovary – The ovary is located on the base of the pistil and contains ovules. Upon receiving pollen, the ovary combines pollens and ovules and grows them in the form of seeds or fruits. As a result, the fruits or seeds grow out after fertilization. These seeds or seeds inside fruits when germinate in the soil, produce new plants.

Pollination and Its Types

cross-pollination
Cross Pollination

There are mainly two kinds of pollination: cross-pollination and self-pollination.

Self-Pollination – It occurs in flowers which have both anther and stigma together. The pollen from the anther is reached quite easily to stigma in this type of pollination.

Cross-Pollination – It takes place between two different flowers of a plant, or between two different plants. During cross-pollination, the pollen from the anther (male part) of a flower reaches to stigma (female part) of a flower.

Facts

Rafflesia-Arnoldii

  • The largest flower in the world is Rafflesia arnoldii that is mostly found in the forests of Indonesia. It can grow to a size of 3 feet in diameter and can weigh around 4 Kg.

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Plants are the living things that grow from tiny seeds or spores to mighty trees. They start their life as a weak creature that thrives on ground and water to grow. The starting point of their life is due to a process called germination. Germination allows the seeds – and also spores – to sprout and become a seedling (very young plant). Parts of a Seed Before discussing the process of germination, it is important to know about the parts of seeds. There are 3 main parts of the seed, which are: 1. Seed Coat – The first things you can see on a seed is its coat – also called seed coat. It is usually a hard outer layer that protects the seed from damage. Also, many kinds of seeds have a soft seed coat that can easily be damaged by pressing them with hands. 2. Embryo – The embryo is the actual part of a seed that grows from the cells that it contains to become a plant. It has 4 main parts, which are epicotyl, hypocotyl, radicle, and cotyledons. 3. Endosperm – The endosperm is like a food storage for the seed. It usually surrounds the embryo of the seed, and it provides all the necessary food (starch and protein) until the seed germinates to a seedling. Conditions for Germination Seeds depend on the environmental conditions for germination. Some seeds successfully germinate, while others don’t. Germination needs a right condition to sprout the seeds. The most important environmental conditions that need to be at the right level are water, temperature, oxygen, and light or darkness. Let’s discuss each of these environmental conditions. • Water – The germination process highly depends on the amount of water present in the soil. Because seed coat is usually dry, it needs to be moistened by water to break its coating. Furthermore, when the water is absorbed in the seed, it activates the certain enzymes. These enzymes break down the stored food and convert it into useful chemicals that supply energy to the embryo. • Temperature – Each kind of seed needs a different range of temperatures to germinate. Some seeds germinate in cold temperatures, while others require hot temperatures for germination. The seeds usually don’t germinate if the temperature is not favorable. • Oxygen – seeds use oxygen during metabolism when germinating. Majority of the seeds are buried in the soil. Seed usually take oxygen from the spaces in the soil until they grow their leaves for photosynthesis. If a seed is buried at a great depth, then it is difficult for the seed to get oxygen. • Light or darkness – It is not an important factor to consider. Because the majority of the seeds have no any effect of light or darkness. But, some seeds have the impact of light. The light or darkness usually trigger the germination process for these seeds. Process of Germination Germination of seed follows four main changes that are occurred in steps. These steps are imbibition, respiration, Mobilization of food reserves, and development of the embryo into a seedling. Let’s discuss each of these steps in detail. 1. Imbibition – This is the first step that starts with the absorption of water – also called imbibition. As the seed absorbs the water through small pores in its seed coat, it rehydrates and swells. The swelling of the seeds forces the seed coat to break, which allows the radicle (first root) to come out and absorb nutrients from the soil. 2. Respiration – When water enters into seed, it starts the metabolic activities in the embryo. The oxygen is absorbed by the seed from the soil for generating energy. Oxygen provides the necessary energy to the seed until it grows leaves and starts photosynthesis. 3. Mobilization of Food Reserves – During germination, metabolism takes place. The seed needs food for digestion. The food of the seed is usually stored in the endosperm. The food is mobilized from the endosperm to the embryo. The outer layer of the endosperm secretes the special enzymes that are used for digestion. 4. Development of Embryo into Seedling – The transportation and digestion of food cause the cells of the embryo to develop and divide. The embryo grows until it forms into a seedling. The seedling has every necessary part to start photosynthesis and further grow into the mature plant. Rate of Germination When the seeds are planted in an agricultural area or garden – not every seed in germinated. To measure how many seeds have been germinated from total seeds, it is called germination rate. Germination rate is usually in percentage, which describes how many seeds have been germinated in a given amount of time. For example, 100 seeds are planted in a garden and 65 seeds have been able to germinate. Then, the rate of germination will be 65%. Facts • The seeds of proteas have the unusual ability. They start to germinate after they are exposed to smoke. This ability is definitely evolved in them for surviving in fire-catching forests. • Coco-de-Mer is a seed that has a weight of around 30 kg. It is considered as largest seed on the earth. • Not every plant grows from the seeds. Many plants grow from the spores of their parent plant. Spores are the remaining of a plant after it dies, or they may be the parts of a plant.
Seed Germination