REPRODUCTIVE MORPHOLOGY

FLOWER STRUCTURE
A flower is a functional unit concerned with reproduction. The components arise from the
uppermost swollen part of the receptacle called pedicel or peduncle. The biological function of a
flower is to effect reproduction, (usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with
eggs).
The essential parts of a flower can be considered in two parts, the vegetative part, consisting of
petals and and sepals (the perianth refers to undifferentiated calyx and corrolla hence
indistinguishable and its members are called tepals), and the reproductive or sexual parts. A
stereotypical flower consists of four kinds of structures attached to the tip of a short stalk. Each
of these kinds of parts is arranged in a whorl on the receptacle.

a)Thalamus
Also called torus or receptacle is the suppressed swollen end of the flower axis on which are
inserted the floral whorls ie sepals (calyx), petals (corolla), stamens and carpel. In most flowers
thalamus is very short but in a few cases elongated

b) Calyx (Sepals)
- Sepals have atleast the role of protecting the developing flower during bud stage. They are
modified leaves and their anatomy can be interpreted as that of leaves that have adopted a
protective function. They lack palisade parenchyma but the mesophyll may contain considerable
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chlorenchyma. A sepal typically receives as many vascular bundles as does a leaf on the same
plant but differs from leaves in that they are ephemeral i.e when they have expanded to the size
at which the flower opens, sepals usually have completed their function and may either abscise
or senence. In some plants the sepals persists and form a tight short tube around the base of the
petals. The sepals are covered with sticky glands hence impossible for any crawling insect to get
by the sepals and rob the nectaries; only flying pollinators can reach the nectar chamber. In other
species the sepals are brightly coloured and petal like and may even produce fragrances and
nectar,When this happens the sepals are more delicate and are retained as petals are atleast until
the pollen is shed. In these flowers the sepals have a double function; protection in the bud first
and attraction of pollinators later.

c) Corrolla (petals)
Collectively the petals of a flower form the corolla. Are non-green and their colour varies from
plant to plant. In most cases they serve as attractants for pollinators. The colour of the petals
which attracts pollinators may be due to pigments ie droplets of carotenoids in the chromoplasts
and betacyanins in vacuoles. The pollinators are attracted to the colors and shapes of the petals,
which serve to direct the pollinators to the nectar they feed on within the flower. A white colour
results from the predominance of intercellular spaces in the petal mesophyll. In species that are
wind pollinated or self pollinated the petals have no attractive function and are reduced or
compeletely absent. Although some petals do persist after pollination, like sepals they tend to be
ephemeral. The petals lack energy and carbohydrate fibres and the epidermis produces little cutin
or wax.

d)The Androecium
The male parts of a flower are the stamens (anther and filament). They are attached on the
receptacle above the petals. The male parts of a flower consist of one or more stamens. Each
stamen is made up of paired anthers (sacs containing pollen) on a filament or stalk. For most
stamens production of the microspores is clearly the dominant function, but in some species,part
of the stamen are converted to nectarines to attract pollinators. In other plants,part of the pollen
and stamens are eaten by the pollinators, these are both protein rich and rather expensive for the

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plant, as a consequence some plants have two types of stamens; one type that actually produces
fertile pollen and others that are feeding stamens that usually contain little or no pollen and are
eaten preferentially by pollinators. Each stamen has two principle parts: the filament and the
sporogeneous region-the anther

(a) Filament: Stalk-like portion attached to receptacle, which is often long, but can be short.
They have thin walled epidermis, thin cuticle and fine trichomes. The epidermis encloses few
layers of parenchyma tissue that has intercellular spaces. There is one slender central vascular
bundle, where the phloem encircles the xylem. Once the flower opens and the filaments elongate,
they live for at most only a few days so water conduction at maturity is unnecessary.

(b) Anther: This is the enlarged, terminally located structure with four chambers
(microsporangia) each of which contains a pollen sac in which the pollen grains are produced by
meiosis. The male reproductive structures produce pollen grains, which give rise to male
gametes, i.e. sperm cells, or simply sperms. There is an epidermis,several layers of mesophyll
cells around each microsporangia and a rather large central mass of parenchyma (the connective)
that contains the vascular trace and sometimes secretory tissues. The connective is the site of
attachement of the anther to the filament

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d) Gynoecium (from Greek gynaikos oikia: woman's house):
The female reproductive structures are called carpels. A flower usually has one or more carpels.
In most flowers, the carpels are fused together to form a pistil/gynoecium. They occur at the very
tip and uppermost part of the receptacle. The carpel has three parts; the ovary, style and stigma.
The carpel has leaf like anatomy with epidermis, mesophyll and vascular tissue. Only the stigma
and style are temporary structures

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(a) The ovary is an enlarged lowermost part with cavities called locules where ovules
(eventually form seeds ) are developed. The ovules inturn contain one female gametophyte, also
referred to in angiosperms as the embryo sac. It persists to become fruit. It is often the thickest
most massive portion of the three parts of a carpel. Has thick epidermis and functional stomata.
The ovules are attached to the inner side and the points of attachment is known as the placenta
(b) The style serves to move the stigma some distance from the ovary. This distance is species
specific. It conducts pollen tubes to the ovary. The styles may be solid (mostly dicots), or may
have a channel/hollow in the centre (monocots). If solid, the centrally located cells are usually
very cytoplasmic parenchyma called transmitting tissue. This tissue serves as a specialized
substrate through which the pollen tube grows. The pollen grain is too small to carry much
nutritional reserve so as the pollen tube elongates through the transmitting tissue it absorbs
nutrients from it. The transmitting tissue is not just however a passage way because in many
species it interacts with the pollen tube testing it for compatibility. If the pollen tube is of an
inappropriate type, the transmitting tissue can react to inhibit its growth. If the lumen is hollow
then the transmitting tissue lines the lumen.

c) The stigma functions as a receptive surface on which pollen lands and germinates its pollen
tube. The stigma consists of a small amount of mesophyll parenchyma or aerenchyma covered
by a thin walled epidermis that has well developed trichomes essentially for trapping pollen
grains. In wind pollinated plants the stigmatic trichomes can be long and the whole structure is

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feather like I appearance. In many species the stigma exudes a fluid rich in amino acids, oils and
sugars when it is ready to receive pollen grain.