Editing Flowering plant (section)

=== Flowers ===

{{main|Flower|Plant reproductive morphology}}

[[File:Angiosperm life cycle diagram-en.svg|thumb|upright=2|Angiosperm [[flower]] showing [[Plant reproductive morphology|reproductive parts]] and life cycle]]

The characteristic feature of angiosperms is the flower. Its function is to ensure [[Fertilisation|fertilization]] of the [[ovule]] and development of [[fruit]] containing [[seed]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Willson |first=Mary F. |date=1 June 1979 |title=Sexual Selection in Plants |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/283437 |journal=[[The American Naturalist]] |volume=113 |issue=6 |pages=777–790 |doi=10.1086/283437 |bibcode=1979ANat..113..777W |s2cid=84970789 |access-date=9 November 2021 |archive-date=9 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109164204/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/283437|url-status=live}}</ref> It may arise terminally on a shoot or from the [[axil]] of a leaf.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bredmose |first=N. |title=Encyclopedia of Rose Science |chapter=Growth Regulation: Axillary Bud Growth |publisher=Elsevier |year=2003 |doi=10.1016/b0-12-227620-5/00017-3 |pages=374–381|isbn=9780122276200 }}</ref> The flower-bearing part of the plant is usually sharply distinguished from the leaf-bearing part, and forms a branch-system called an [[inflorescence]].{{sfn|Balfour|Rendle|1911|p=10}}

Flowers produce two kinds of reproductive cells. [[Microspore]]s, which divide to become [[pollen|pollen grains]], are the male cells; they are borne in the [[stamen]]s.<ref name="Salisbury-1970">{{cite book |last1=Salisbury |first1=Frank B. |chapter=Sexual Reproduction |date=1970 |title=Vascular Plants: Form and Function |pages=185–195 |editor-last=Salisbury |editor-first=Frank B. |series=Fundamentals of Botany Series |location=London |publisher=Macmillan Education |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-00364-8_13 |isbn=978-1-349-00364-8 |last2=Parke |first2=Robert V. |doi-broken-date=22 January 2025 |editor2-last=Parke |editor2-first=Robert V.}}</ref> The female cells, [[megaspore]]s, [[megagametogenesis|divide to become the egg cell]]. They are contained in the [[ovule]] and enclosed in the [[carpel]]; one or more carpels form the [[pistil]].<ref name="Salisbury-1970" />

The flower may consist only of these parts, as in [[Anemophily|wind-pollinated]] plants like the [[willow]], where each flower comprises only a few [[stamen]]s or two carpels.{{sfn|Balfour|Rendle|1911|p=10}} In [[Entomophily|insect-]] or [[Ornithophily|bird-pollinated]] plants, other structures protect the [[sporophyll]]s and attract pollinators. The individual members of these surrounding structures are known as [[sepal]]s and [[petal]]s (or [[tepal]]s in flowers such as ''[[Magnolia]]'' where sepals and petals are not distinguishable from each other). The outer series (calyx of sepals) is usually green and leaf-like, and functions to protect the rest of the flower, especially the bud.{{Sfn|De Craene|P.|2010|p=7}}{{Sfn|D. Mauseth|2016|p=225}} The inner series (corolla of petals) is, in general, white or brightly colored, is more delicate in structure, and attracts pollinators by colour, [[Floral scent|scent]], and [[nectar]].{{Sfn|De Craene|P.|2010|p=8}}{{Sfn|D. Mauseth|2016|p=226}}

Most flowers are [[Hermaphrodite#Plants|hermaphroditic]], producing both pollen and ovules in the same flower, but some use other devices to reduce self-fertilization. Heteromorphic flowers have carpels and stamens of differing lengths, so animal [[pollinator]]s cannot easily transfer pollen between them. Homomorphic flowers may use a biochemical [[Self-incompatibility in plants|self-incompatibility]] to discriminate between self and non-self pollen grains. [[Dioecious]] plants such as [[holly]] have male and female flowers on separate plants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ainsworth |first=C. |date=August 2000 |title=Boys and Girls Come Out to Play: The Molecular Biology of Dioecious Plants |journal=Annals of Botany |volume=86 |issue=2 |pages=211–221 |doi=10.1006/anbo.2000.1201 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2000AnBot..86..211A }}</ref> [[Monoecious]] plants have separate male and female flowers on the same plant; these are often wind-pollinated,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Batygina |first=T.B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VOWDwAAQBAJ&q=monoecy&pg=PA43 |title=Embryology of Flowering Plants: Terminology and Concepts, Vol. 3: Reproductive Systems |date=2019 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4398-4436-6 |page=43}}</ref> as in [[maize]],<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Bortiri | first1=E. | last2=Hake | first2=S. | title=Flowering and determinacy in maize | journal=Journal of Experimental Botany | publisher=Oxford University Press (OUP) | volume=58 | issue=5 | date=2007-01-13 | issn=0022-0957 | doi=10.1093/jxb/erm015 | pages=909–916| pmid=17337752 }}</ref> but include some insect-pollinated plants such as ''[[Cucurbita]]'' squashes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mabberley |first=D. J. |year=2008 |title=The Plant Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-82071-4 |page=235}}</ref><ref>{{efloras|2|108644 |access-date=21 February 2015}}</ref>