TABLE OF CONTENTS
FLOWERS ................................................................................................................................. 1
Flower anatomy ..................................................................................................................... 1
Parts of a flower ................................................................................................................. 1
Flower function ...................................................................................................................... 2
Flowers in the arts .................................................................................................................. 3
Ah! Sun-Flower ................................................................................................................. 3
Flowers in everyday life......................................................................................................... 3
Occasions to exchange flowers .......................................................................................... 3
How this trade occurs......................................................................................................... 3
Flowers as symbols ................................................................................................................ 4
TABLE OF FIGURES
PİCTURE 1. CLİVİA MİNİATE BEARS BRİGHT ORANGE FLOWERS ................................................... 1
DİAGRAM 1. PARTS OF FLOWER .................................................................................................. 1
PİCTURE 2. AH! SUN-FLOWER .................................................................................................... 3
PİCTURE 3. DAİSİES .................................................................................................................... 4
FLOWERS
Picture 1. Clivia miniate
bears bright orange flowers
A flower, also known as a bloom or blossom, is the
reproductive structure and it is found in flowering plants (plants
of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). The
flower structure contains the plant's reproductive organs, and its
function is to produce seeds through sexual reproduction. For
the higher plants, seeds are the next generation, and serve as the
primary means by which individuals of a species are dispersed
across the landscape. After fertilization, portions of the flower
develop into a fruit containing the seeds.
Flower anatomy
Flowering plants are heterosporangiate (producing two types of reproductive spores) and the
pollen (male spores) and ovules (female spores) are produced in different organs, but these
are together in a bisporangiate strobilus that is the typical flower.
A flower is regarded as a modified stem (Eames, 1961) with shortened internodes and
bearing, at its nodes, structures that may be highly modified leaves. In essence, a flower
structure forms on a modified shoot or axis with an apical meristem that does not grow
continuously (growth is determinate). The stem is called a pedicel, the end of which is the
torus or receptacle. The parts of a flower are
arranged in whorls on the torus.
POPPY
C
Parts of a flower
ALYX
The four main parts or whorls are as follows:
Poppycalyx – the outer whorl of sepals;
typically these are green, but are petal-like in
some species.
corolla – the whorl of petals, which are
usually thin, soft and colored to attract insects
that help the process of pollination.
androecium (from Greek andros oikia: man's
house) – one or two whorls of stamens, each a
filament topped by an anther where pollen is
produced. Pollen contains the male gametes.
F
NJTFG
fLOWE
R
COROL
LA
FHBDM
N
gynoecium (from Greek gynaikos oikia:
woman's house) – one or more pistils. The
female reproductive organ is the carpel: this
contains an ovary with ovules (female gametes). Diagram 1. Parts of flower
A pistil may consist of a number of carpels merged together, in which case there is only one
pistil to each flower, or of a single individual carpel (the flower is then called apocarpous).
In the majority of species, individual flowers have both pistils and stamens as described
above. These flowers are described by botanists as being perfect, bisexual, or hermaphrodite.
However, in some species of plants the flowers are imperfect or unisexual: having only either
male (stamens) or female (pistil) parts. In the latter case, if an individual plant is either male
or female the species is regarded as dioecious. However, where unisexual male and female
flowers appear on the same plant, the species is considered monoecious.
Some flowers with both stamens and a pistil are capable of self-fertilization, which does
increase the chance of producing seeds but limits genetic variation. The extreme case of selffertilization occurs in flowers that always self-fertilize, such as the common dandelion.
Conversely, many species of plants have ways of preventing self-fertilization. Unisexual
male and female flowers on the same plant may not appear at the same time, or pollen from
the same plant may be incapable of fertilizing its ovules. The latter flower types, which have
chemical barriers to their own pollen, are referred to as self-sterile or self-incompatible (see
also: Plant sexuality).
Flower function
The function of a flower is to mediate the union of male and female gametes. The process is
termed pollination. Many flowers are dependent upon the wind to move pollen between
flowers of the same species. Others rely on animals (especially insects) to accomplish this
feat. The period of time during which this process can take place (the flower is fully
expanded and functional) is called anthesis.
Many flowers in nature have evolved to attract animals to pollinate the flower, the
movements of the pollinating agent contributing to the opportunity for genetic
recombinations within a dispersed plant population. Flowers that are insect pollinated are
called entomophilous (literally "insect loving"). Flowers commonly have glands called
nectaries on their various parts that attract these animals. Birds and bees are common
pollinators: both having color vision, thus opting for "colorful" flowers. Some flowers have
patterns, called nectar guides, that are evident in the ultraviolet range, visible to bees but not
to humans. Flowers also attract pollinators by scent. In any case, pollinators are attracted to
the plant, perhaps in search of nectar, which they eat. The arrangement of the stamens ensures
that pollen grains are transferred to the bodies of the pollinator. In gathering nectar from
many flowers of the same species, the pollinators transfer pollen between all of the flowers it
visits.
Flower scent is not always pleasant to our sense of smell. Some plants, such as Rafflesia, the
titan arum, and the North American pawpaw (Asimina triloba) are pollinated by flies, so
produce a scent imitating rotting meat.
Flowers in the arts
The great variety of delicate and beautiful flowers has inspired the works of many poets,
especially from the Romantic era. Famous examples include William Wordsworth's I
Wandered Lonely as a Cloud and William Blake's Ah! Sun-Flower:
Ah! Sun-Flower
Ah, Sun-flower weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the Sun,
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller's journey is done:
Where the Youth pined away with desire,
And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my Sun-flower wishes to go.
Picture 2. Ah! Sun-Flower
Flowers in everyday life
In modern times, people have sought ways to cultivate, buy, wear, or just be around flowers
and blooming plants, partly because of their agreeable smell. Around the world, florists sell
flowers for a wide range of events and functions that, cumulatively, encompass one's lifetime.
Occasions to exchange flowers

For new births or Christenings

Lilium hybrid "Stargazer" is extremely fragrant. As a corsage or boutonniere to be
worn at social functions or for holidays

For wedding flowers for the bridal party, and decorations for the hall

As brightening decorations within the home

As a gift of remembrance for bonvoyage parties, welcome home parties, and
"thinking of you" gifts

For funeral flowers and flowers for the grieving
How this trade occurs
Florists depend on an entire network of commercial growers and shippers to support this
trade. To get flowers that are out of season in their country, florists contact wholesalers who
have direct connections with growers in other countries to provide those flowers.
Flowers as symbols
Daisies symbolize innocence in
Western culture. Many flowers
have important symbolic
meanings in Western culture.
The practice of assigning
meanings to flowers is known as
floriography. Some of the more
common examples include:
Red roses are given as a symbol
of love, beauty, and passion.
Poppies are a symbol of
Picture 3. Daisies
consolation in time of death. In
the UK, Australia and Canada, red poppies are worn to commemorate soldiers who have died
in times of war.
Irises/Lily are used in burials as a symbol refering to "resurrection/life". It is also assosiated
with stars (sun) and its petals blooming/shining.
Daisies are a symbol of innocence.
Flowers within art are also representative of the female genitalia, as seen in the works of
artists such as Georgia O'Keefe, Imogene Cunningham, and Judy Chicago.