The flowers are a part of the plants that, in addition to containing brightly colored petals, have other parts in charge of the reproduction of the plants, in this entry each one of them will be explained. parts of the flower so that this reproductive function can be known a little more.
Flower
The plants as a whole have a vital importance, both their leaves, as well as their roots or stems, are part of the Flora of different ecosystems with diverse functions, however a much more important part is still the flower, which is the structure in charge of the reproduction of plants that are spermatophytes and phanerogams, how do they do it? producing seeds through sexual reproduction that will later serve to grow more plants of the same species.
Just as plants have one or more functions within the ecosystem where they are, the parts of the flower are responsible for certain tasks. Likewise, in general, they are in charge of reproduction, developing gametes of the two known sexes, after that fertilization occurs right there and then the seeds emerge. This can be done differently in flowers that are gymnosperms or those that are angiosperms.
The former are those found on plants that develop reproductive leaves that generally have a cone or helical shape that is called a strobilus, the flowers gather in these cones and the flower itself may be a strobilus. Gymnosperms are characterized because their seeds are not formed inside a closed place such as the ovary, but are exposed, something that also differentiates them from other types of flowers is that they do not produce fruits.
Gymnosperm plants are approximately 820 species that are divided into 80 genera, they are not as numerous as angiosperms because the latter are faster to reproduce than the former, this reproduction can take up to a year and their seeds can mature for up to three years. In addition to that, angiosperms are pollinated in different ways by animals, unlike gymnosperms that are only pollinated by wind.
Angiosperms, on the other hand, are those that have a typical flower capable of reproducing, giving fruits that contain seeds, they mostly have sepals, petals and carpels that contain the ovules and that is where they receive the pollen. These are the flowers that are found in the largest quantity on the entire planet because they have a reproduction that can take only weeks.
The amount of angiosperms in the world is completely far from that of gymnosperms, approximately 257.000 species have been registered, placing 90% of the planet's plants within this classification. In fact, it has been discovered that angiosperms have existed since the Cretaceous period and their fruits have served various species of the kingdoms of living beings to feed, for example, humans.
It has been possible to identify three main orders within the Angiosperm classification: The Amborellales, the Nymphaeales and the Mesangiospermae. But not only the diversity of angiosperm species is what gives variety to this large number of plants, but also their behavior and the habitats in which they are found. Angiosperms can be shrubs, herbs, and not only on land (in swamps, deserts, mountains, savannas, etc.) but in the sea.
flowers and humans
For the human race, flowers have not only served as food that allows them to survive with a vegetarian diet or not, flowers of different types have been used for medicinal preparations, to decorate and even produce an emotional response from them. Flowers have many meanings in the different cultures that manage the societies of the world, some religions and mythologies use them as a source of inspiration for artists, writers, poets, musicians, etc.
In Japan, for example, flowers are the symbol of the life cycle that all living beings have. In Greece they are the symbol of the souls of the dead and thus different meanings can be found that have been associated with them, the beauty of the flowers that grow on certain species of plants have served to associate the beauty of other beings with the one that shows this part of the plant.
As for emotional responses, many of them reflect certain emotions and moods. That is why they are also used as decoration to convey those emotions, in addition to that the diversity of colors and their meaning has a considerable influence at the same time as their shape, texture and smell.
Parts of the flower
The structure of a flower begins with the stem of the plant from which it grows, which has a certain length to grow depending on each species, from there other parts are developed that are responsible for certain tasks of growth, pollination or reproduction. These parts can be divided into two groups, the first comprises those that carry out reproductive tasks and others that do not. In each of them, it will be specified to which group they belong:
Androecium
This name is used for the male gametes that the flower has and that in turn have the following parts, in principle they have a stamen that functions as a male organ where pollen is formed, which is produced in the anther (which is found at the end of stamen). The filament is the third part of the androecium and it is what supports the anther but it is sterile, finally, the thecae are the ones that contain the pollen grains.
carpel
The carpel comprises the entire part where the female reproductive organ of the flower is located, which is the gynoecium. Both are responsible for containing the pistil or pistils.
Gynecium
The female reproductive organ or apparatus that flowers have is called the gynoecium and can be identified by its leaves (mostly green) and its carpels that have pistils. This part of the flower is in turn divided into other elements that are: the style (where the pollen is stored and the pollen is conducted to the other parts since it has a tubular shape), the stigma (it is the upper part that has pistils and is where the sticky nectar vital for pollen is produced).
Finally, the ovaries are located at the bottom of the pistils and have several carpelar leaves (some flowers have only one carpel) and that is where the ovules are found. The gynoecium is also called the pistil.
Peduncle
The peduncle is at the end of the stem and where the flower begins, so it works as a support, but in addition to that it dilates and that is when the leaves settle in the receptacle.
perianth
The perianth is an envelope of leaves that protect the male and female reproductive organs of the flower, this part has two whorls that are sterile: the calyx (where the sepals are) and the corolla (where the petals are).
Petals
The function of the petals is to attract animals to carry out pollination, they can have different shapes and colors and give each flower a characteristic appearance.
Receptacle
In this part the leaves of the flower are placed when the peduncle dilates.
