Flowers are the reproductive part of a flowering plant. They are the most colorful and
attractive organ of a plant body.
A typical diagram of a flower is divided into four main parts:
1) sepals: They are modified leaves that enclose the developing flower. Sepals are the
first essential part that grows in a flower, arising from the top of the stem.
Functions
• Providing protection to the young flower buds from an injury by forming a tightly
closed area
• Giving structural support to a flower
, 2) petals: They are modified leaf-like parts that surround the reproductive organs of a flower. Petals
are the brightest and colorful parts of a flower that distinguish them from other parts.
Functions
• Protecting the reproductive structures in flowers
• Attracting pollinators like insects (e.g., bees, wasps, and butterflies), birds and other
small mammals to transfer pollen from male to female reproductive part of a flower
3) stamen: It is the male reproductive part of a flower. It consists of two main parts:
a) Anther – Yellowish sac-like structure present at the head of the stamen.
b) Filament – Slender stalk-like structure present at the tail of the stamen.
Functions
• Anthers helps in producing and storing pollen grains
• Filament holds the anther and attaches it to the flower
4) carpel
Female reproductive part of a flower that forms pistil. A pistil may contain a single carpel or
multiple carpels fused together. It contains three parts:
a) Stigma – Head of the pistil that catches pollen grains.
b) Style – The stalk of the pistil. When pollen grains reach stigma, a tube-like structure
grows through the style called pollen tube, which reaches the ovary.
c) Ovary – The base of the pistil that holds the eggs or ovules. The ovary later becomes
the seed when the male and female reproductive cells fuse together, thereby forming the
embryo, a process called fertilization.
Functions
• Stigma helps in receiving pollen grains and in their germination
• Style supports the stigma and connects it to the ovary
• Ovary helps in developing, distributing, and nourishing the embryo
When a flower has all four floral parts, it is called a complete flower. A flower missing any
one of them is called an incomplete flower.
Fruit