Flower facts for kids
A flower is a special kind of plant part. Flowers are also called the bloom or blossom of a plant. The flower grows on a stalk – a thin node – which supports it. Flowers have petals. Inside the part of the flower that has petals are the parts which produce pollen and seeds.
Flowers are the reproductive structure of flowering plants, which are plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called the Angiosperms.
In many plants, a flower is its most colourful part. We say the plant 'flowers', 'is flowering' or 'is in flower' when this colourful part begins to grow bigger and open out. There are many different kinds of flowers in different areas in the world. Even in the coldest places, for example the Arctic, flowers can grow during a few months.
Flowers may grow separately on the plant, or they may grow together in an inflorescence.
Contents
Structure of flowers
To investigate the structure of a flower, it must be dissected, and its structure summarised by a floral diagram or a floral formula. Then its family can be identified with the aid of a flora, which is a book designed to help you identify plants.
Four basic parts
Flowers have four basic parts, from the outside in they are:
- The perianth, the vegetative parts
- The calyx: the outermost whorl consisting of units called sepals. These are often green and enclose the rest of the flower in the bud. They may be absent, or they may be petal-like in some species.
- The corolla: the petals, usually thin, soft and often colored to attract animals that help pollination.
- The reproductive parts
Although this arrangement is typical, plant species show a wide variation in floral structure. The modifications produced in the evolution of flowering plants are used by botanists to find relationships among plant species.
Flowers are an important evolutionary advance made by flowering plants. Some flowers are dependent upon the wind to move pollen between flowers of the same species. Many others rely on insects or birds to move pollen. The role of flowers is to produce seeds, which are contained in fruit. Fruits and seeds are a means of dispersal. Plants do not move, but wind, animals and birds spread the plants across the landscape.
Since the ovules are protected by carpels, it takes something special for fertilisation to happen. Angiosperms have pollen grains comprising just three cells. One cell is responsible for drilling down through the integuments, and creating a passage for the two sperm cells to flow down. The megagametophyte has just seven cells. Of these, one is the egg cell; it fuses with a sperm cell, forming the zygote. Another cell joins with the other sperm, and dedicates itself to forming a nutrient-rich endosperm. The other cells take auxiliary roles. This process of "double fertilisation" is unique and common to all angiosperms.
Evolution of flowers
Flowers are modified leaves possessed only by the flowering plants (angiosperms), which are relatively late to appear in the fossil record.
The earliest known fossils of flowers and flowering plants are from 130 million years ago, in the Lower Cretaceous. The flowering plants have long been assumed to have evolved from within the gymnosperms; but the known gymnosperms form a clade which is distinct from the angiosperms. It has been concluded that the two clades diverged (split) some 300 million years ago.
Pollination
The primary purpose of a flower is reproduction. Since the flowers are the reproductive organs of plant, they mediate the joining of the sperm, contained within pollen, to the ovules - contained in the ovary. Pollination is the movement of pollen from the anthers to the stigma. The joining of the sperm to the ovules is called fertilization. Normally pollen is moved from one plant to another, but many plants are able to self pollinate. The fertilized ovules produce seeds that are the next generation. Sexual reproduction produces genetically unique offspring, allowing for adaptation. Flowers have specific designs which encourages the transfer of pollen from one plant to another of the same species. Many plants are dependent upon external factors for pollination, including: wind and animals, and especially insects. Even large animals such as birds, bats, and pygmy possums can be employed. The period of time during which this process can take place (the flower is fully expanded and functional) is called anthesis.
Attraction methods
Plants can not move from one location to another, thus many flowers have evolved to attract animals to transfer pollen between individuals in dispersed populations. Flowers that are insect-pollinated are called entomophilous; literally "insect-loving" in Latin. They can be highly modified along with the pollinating insects by co-evolution. Flowers commonly have glands called nectaries on various parts that attract animals looking for nutritious nectar. Birds and bees have color vision, enabling them to seek out "colorful" flowers. Some flowers have patterns, called nectar guides, that show pollinators where to look for nectar; they may be visible only under ultraviolet light, which is visible to bees and some other insects.
Flowers also attract pollinators by scent and some of those scents are pleasant to our sense of smell. Not all flower scents are appealing to humans, a number of flowers are pollinated by insects that are attracted to rotten flesh and have flowers that smell like dead animals, often called Carrion flowers including Rafflesia, the titan arum, and the North American pawpaw (Asimina triloba). Flowers pollinated by night visitors, including bats and moths, are likely to concentrate on scent to attract pollinators and most such flowers are white.
Still other flowers use mimicry to attract pollinators. Some species of orchids, for example, produce flowers resembling female bees in color, shape, and scent. Male bees move from one such flower to another in search of a mate.
Pollination mechanism
The pollination mechanism employed by a plant depends on what method of pollination is utilized.
Most flowers can be divided between two broad groups of pollination methods:
Entomophilous: flowers attract and use insects, bats, birds or other animals to transfer pollen from one flower to the next. Often they are specialized in shape and have an arrangement of the stamens that ensures that pollen grains are transferred to the bodies of the pollinator when it lands in search of its attractant (such as nectar, pollen, or a mate). In pursuing this attractant from many flowers of the same species, the pollinator transfers pollen to the stigmas—arranged with equally pointed precision—of all of the flowers it visits. Many flower rely on simple proximity between flower parts to ensure pollination. Others, such as the Sarracenia or lady-slipper orchids, have elaborate designs to ensure pollination while preventing self-pollination.
Anemophilous: flowers use the wind to move pollen from one flower to the next, examples include the grasses, Birch trees, Ragweed and Maples. They have no need to attract pollinators and therefore tend not to be "showy" flowers. Whereas the pollen of entomophilous flowers tends to be large-grained, sticky, and rich in protein (another "reward" for pollinators), anemophilous flower pollen is usually small-grained, very light, and of little nutritional value to insects, though it may still be gathered in times of dearth. Honeybees and bumblebees actively gather anemophilous corn (maize) pollen, though it is of little value to them.
Some flowers are self pollinated and use flowers that never open or are self pollinated before the flowers open, these flowers are called cleistogamous. Many Viola species and some Salvia have these types of flowers.
Flower-pollinator relationships
Many flowers have close relationships with one or a few specific pollinating organisms. Many flowers, for example, attract only one specific species of insect, and therefore rely on that insect for successful reproduction. This close relationship is often given as an example of coevolution, as the flower and pollinator are thought to have developed together over a long period of time to match each other's needs.
This close relationship compounds the negative effects of extinction. The extinction of either member in such a relationship would mean almost certain extinction of the other member as well. Some endangered plant species are so because of shrinking pollinator populations.
Flowers for people
As decoration
Flowers have long been admired and used by humans. Most people think that flowers are beautiful. Many people also love flowers for their fragrances (scents). People enjoy seeing flowers growing in gardens. People also enjoy growing flowers in their backyards, outside their homes. People often wear flowers on their clothes or give flowers as a gift during special occasions, holidays, or rituals, such as the birth of a new baby (or a Christening), at weddings (marriages), at funerals (when a person dies). People often buy flowers from businesses called florists.
As a name
Some parents name their girl children after a flower. Some common flower names are: Rose, Lily, Daisy, Holly, Hyacinth, Jasmine, Blossom.
As food
People also eat some types of flowers. Flower vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower and artichoke. The most expensive spice, saffron, comes from the crocus flower. Other flower spices are cloves and capers. Hops flowers are used to flavor beer. Dandelion can be made into wine.
Honey is flower nectar that has been collected and processed by bees. Honey is often named for the type of flower that the bees are using (for example, clover honey). Some people put flowers from nasturtiums, chrysanthemums, or carnations in their food. Flowers can also be made into tea. Dried flowers such as chrysanthemum, rose, and jasmine are used to make tea.
List of common flowers
Related pages
Images for kids
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Reproductive parts of Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum). 1. Stigma, 2. Style, 3. Stamens, 4. Filament, 5. Petal
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Ophrys apifera, a bee orchid, which has evolved over many generations to mimic a female bee.
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Clianthus puniceus, the Kaka Beak.
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The fruit of a peach with the seed or stone inside.
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Amborella trichopoda may have characteristic features of the earliest flowering plants
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Carl Linnaeus's method for classifying plants focused solely on the structure and nature of the flowers.
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Lilies are often used to denote life or resurrection
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Chancel flowers, placed upon the altar of St. Arsatius's Church in Ilmmünster.
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View of the Tampere Central Square during the Tampere Floral Festival in July 2007.
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Flower market – Detroit's Eastern Market
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See also
In Spanish: Flor para niños
