The features of a flower

The beauty of a flower is more than it's color, smell, shape and size, it's allure comes from the inside as well, from it's dazzling inner structure. Flowers come in many different shapes, sizes and forms, from the amazing Passiflora caerulea (Passion Flower), to the elegant Cyclamen persicum (Cyclamen). The flower forms are as varied as the terminology which describes them.

Floral forms range from double flower (as in roses), globular flower (round headed), funnel-shaped, rotate (star shape), tubular (a narrow tube), trumpet-shaped, urceolate (urn shape), and campanulate (bell shape). There are also different stamen (pollen containing anther and filament) arrangements which are illustrated in, "The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary Of Botanical Terms," by Michael Hickey and Clive King, that detail the layout of petals, sepals and stamens. Some of the stamen arrangements are, antisepalous (stamens in an "x" layout), antipetalous (stamens in a cross), obdiplostemonous (cross and "x" shape stamens with the "x" stamens on top), and diplostemonous, (cross and "x" shape stamens with the cross stamens on top).

Flowers can also have amazingly different pistils (the female parts; stigma, style and ovary), and it is the style and stigma that can contain much variation. These contrasting shapes in the style and stigma are part of the flower's scheme to entice specific pollinators. Some botanical species have developed their flower form, color and pistil to attract one type of pollinator. For instance, there is a hummingbird with a specialized, long beak, that drinks from a flower that mimics the length and shape of it's beak. This plant evolved so that this hummingbird could be one of it's few pollinators. Color plays a significant role, too, and petals lure pollinators with bright, intricate colorations. Some flower colors range from subtle, pale blues to mottled and striped pinks.

The heart of a flower, it's structure, contains the petals, sepals, corolla, calyx, pistil, and stamens, and this is what makes fertilization and reproduction possible. These flower structures each serve a purpose in continuing the life cycle of a plant. The stamens carry the pollen, which when an insect or other pollinator rubs against, transfers the pollen to another flower. When the pollen contacts the stigma of a different flower it begins the fertilization process by traveling through a pollen tube to the ovary and ovule. The ovary becomes the fruit and the ovule the seed. Thus, the life cycle begins again with seed growing into a new plant. If you want more information about plant morphology and fertilization refer to the "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants," by Michael A. Dirr or "The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms," by Michael Hickey and Clive King.

As you can see from the illustration above flowers have intricate and complex compositions that help them adapt and survive in today's world. Their beauty enchants us and their fragrance invites us to breath in their floral scent over and over again. So, plant some flowers in your yard and help out the pollinators, like bees, who need flowers to perform their vital nectar collection activities.

Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Ilinois: Stipes Publishing Company. 1990. Print

Hickey, Michael and Clive King. The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2000. Print.