flower

a blossom; a plant that blooms
Not to be confused with:flour – ground meal

flower

flow·er

F0199000 (flou′ər)n.1. a. The reproductive structure of angiosperms, characteristically having either specialized male or female organs or both male and female organs, such as stamens and a pistil, enclosed in an outer envelope of petals and sepals.b. Such a structure having showy or colorful parts; a blossom.c. A flower head.2. A plant that is cultivated or appreciated for its blossoms.3. The condition or a time of having developed flowers: The azaleas were in full flower.4. The period of highest development or greatest vigor. See Synonyms at bloom¹.5. The highest example or best representative: the flower of our generation.6. A natural development or outgrowth: "His attitude was simply a flower of his general good nature" (Henry James).7. flowers Chemistry A fine powder produced by condensation or sublimation of a compound.v. flow·ered, flow·er·ing, flow·ers v.intr.1. To produce a flower or flowers; blossom.2. To develop naturally or fully; mature: His artistic talents flowered early.v.tr. To decorate with flowers or with a floral pattern.

[Middle English flour, from Old French flor, from Latin flōs, flōr-; see bhel- in Indo-European roots.]

flow′er·er n.flow′er·less adj.

flower

(ˈflaʊə) n1. a. a bloom or blossom on a plantb. a plant that bears blooms or blossoms2. (Botany) the reproductive structure of angiosperm plants, consisting normally of stamens and carpels surrounded by petals and sepals all borne on the receptacle (one or more of these structures may be absent). In some plants it is conspicuous and brightly coloured and attracts insects or other animals for pollination. 3. (Botany) any similar reproductive structure in other plants4. the prime; peak: in the flower of his youth. 5. the choice or finest product, part, or representative: the flower of the young men. 6. a decoration or embellishment7. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) printing a type ornament, used with others in borders, chapter headings, etc8. (Art Terms) Also called: fleuron an embellishment or ornamental symbol depicting a flower9. (Chemistry) (plural) fine powder, usually produced by sublimation: flowers of sulphur. vb10. (intr) to produce flowers; bloom11. (intr) to reach full growth or maturity12. (tr) to deck or decorate with flowers or floral designs[C13: from Old French flor, from Latin flōs; see blow³] ˈflower-ˌlike adj

flow•er

(ˈflaʊ ər)

n. 1. the blossom of a plant. Compare inflorescence. 2. a. the part of a seed plant comprising the reproductive organs and their envelopes if any, esp. when such envelopes are more or less conspicuous in form and color. b. an analogous reproductive structure in other plants, as the mosses. 3. a plant considered with reference to or cultivated for its blossom. 4. a state of efflorescence or bloom: Peonies were in flower. 5. the finest or most flourishing period: when knighthood was in flower. 6. the best or finest member, product, or example: the flower of American youth. 7. flowers, (used with a sing. v.) a chemical substance in the form of a fine powder, esp. as obtained by sublimation. v.i. 8. to produce flowers; blossom; come to full bloom. 9. to come out into full development; mature; flourish: Her talent flowered early. v.t. 10. to cover or deck with flowers. 11. to decorate with a floral design. [1150–1200; Middle English flour flower, best of anything < Old French flor, flour, flur < Latin flōrem acc. of flōs] flow′er•less, adj. flow′er•like`, adj.

flow·er

(flou′ər)Noun1. The reproductive structure of the seed-bearing plants known as angiosperms. The female reproductive part is the pistil, including the ovary, style, and stigma, and the male reproductive part is the stamen, including the filament and anther. The organs are enclosed in an outer envelope of petals and sepals. See Note at pollination.2. A flowering plant that is grown mainly for its brightly colored petals.Verb To produce flowers; bloom.

flower

Past participle: flowered
Gerund: flowering

Imperative
flower
flower

Present
I flower
you flower
he/she/it flowers
we flower
you flower
they flower

Preterite
I flowered
you flowered
he/she/it flowered
we flowered
you flowered
they flowered

Present Continuous
I am flowering
you are flowering
he/she/it is flowering
we are flowering
you are flowering
they are flowering

Present Perfect
I have flowered
you have flowered
he/she/it has flowered
we have flowered
you have flowered
they have flowered

Past Continuous
I was flowering
you were flowering
he/she/it was flowering
we were flowering
you were flowering
they were flowering

Past Perfect
I had flowered
you had flowered
he/she/it had flowered
we had flowered
you had flowered
they had flowered

Future
I will flower
you will flower
he/she/it will flower
we will flower
you will flower
they will flower

Future Perfect
I will have flowered
you will have flowered
he/she/it will have flowered
we will have flowered
you will have flowered
they will have flowered

Future Continuous
I will be flowering
you will be flowering
he/she/it will be flowering
we will be flowering
you will be flowering
they will be flowering

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been flowering
you have been flowering
he/she/it has been flowering
we have been flowering
you have been flowering
they have been flowering

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been flowering
you will have been flowering
he/she/it will have been flowering
we will have been flowering
you will have been flowering
they will have been flowering

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been flowering
you had been flowering
he/she/it had been flowering
we had been flowering
you had been flowering
they had been flowering

Conditional
I would flower
you would flower
he/she/it would flower
we would flower
you would flower
they would flower

Past Conditional
I would have flowered
you would have flowered
he/she/it would have flowered
we would have flowered
you would have flowered
they would have flowered

flower

The specialized reproductive shoot of a flowering plant.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	flower - a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossomsangiosperm, flowering plant - plants having seeds in a closed ovarybloomer - a flower that blooms in a particular way; "a night bloomer"paeony, peony - any of numerous plants widely cultivated for their showy single or double red or pink or white flowerslesser celandine, pilewort, Ranunculus ficaria - perennial herb native to Europe but naturalized elsewhere having heart-shaped leaves and yellow flowers resembling buttercups; its tuberous roots have been used as a poultice to relieve pilesAdonis annua, pheasant's-eye - Eurasian herb cultivated for its deep red flowers with dark centersanemone, windflower - any woodland plant of the genus Anemone grown for its beautiful flowers and whorls of dissected leavesAnemonella thalictroides, rue anemone - woodland flower native to eastern North America having cup-shaped flowers reminiscent of anemone but more delicateaquilege, aquilegia, columbine - a plant of the genus Aquilegia having irregular showy spurred flowers; north temperate regions especially mountainsConsolida ambigua, Delphinium ajacis, rocket larkspur - commonly cultivated larkspur of southern Europe having unbranched spikelike racemes of blue or sometimes purplish or pinkish flowers; sometime placed in genus Delphiniumdelphinium - any plant of the genus Delphinium having palmately divided leaves and showy spikes of variously colored spurred flowers; some contain extremely poisonous substancesnigella - any plant of the genus Nigellapeace lily, spathe flower, spathiphyllum - any of various plants of the genus Spathiphyllum having a white or green spathe and a spike of fragrant flowers and often cultivated as an ornamentalarum lily, calla, calla lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica - South African plant widely cultivated for its showy pure white spathe and yellow spadixsandwort - low-growing chiefly perennial plant usually with small white flowers suitable for e.g. rock gardensgarden pink, pink - any of various flowers of plants of the genus Dianthus cultivated for their fragrant flowersbabies'-breath, baby's breath, Gypsophila paniculata - tall plant with small lance-shaped leaves and numerous tiny white or pink flowerslychnis, catchfly - mostly perennial herbs with sticky stems that catch insects; widespread in north temperate zoneMoehringia lateriflora, sandwort - low-growing herb having clusters of small white four-petaled flowersMoehringia mucosa, sandwort - loosely matted plant with moss-like foliage studded with tiny starry four-petaled white blossoms; mountains of central and southern Europebouncing Bess, bouncing Bet, hedge pink, Saponaria officinalis, soapwort - plant of European origin having pink or white flowers and leaves yielding a detergent when bruisedcampion, catchfly, silene - any plant of the genus Silenecow cockle, cowherb, Saponaria vaccaria, Vaccaria hispanica, Vaccaria pyramidata - European annual with pale rose-colored flowers; cultivated flower or self-sown grainfield weed; introduced in North America; sometimes classified as a soapwortfig marigold, pebble plant - any of several South African plants of the genus Mesembryanthemum cultivated for showy pink or white flowersglobe amaranth, Gomphrena globosa, bachelor's button - tropical American herb having rose to red or purple flowers that can be dried without losing colorNyctaginia capitata, scarlet musk flower - viscid branched perennial of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico having tuberous roots and deep red flowersumbrellawort - a plant of the genus Mirabilisfour o'clock - any of several plants of the genus Mirabilis having flowers that open in late afternoonportulaca - a plant of the genus Portulaca having pink or red or purple or white ephemeral flowersCarolina spring beauty, Claytonia caroliniana - similar to Claytonia virginica but having usually pink flowers; eastern North AmericaClatonia lanceolata, spring beauty - small slender plant having one pair of succulent leaves at the middle of the stem and a loose raceme of white or pink or rose bowl-shaped flowers and an edible cormClaytonia virginica, Virginia spring beauty - small cormous perennial grown for its low rosette of succulent foliage and racemes of pink-tinged white flowers; eastern North AmericaCheiranthus cheiri, Erysimum cheiri, wallflower - perennial of southern Europe having clusters of fragrant flowers of all colors especially yellow and orange; often naturalized on old walls or cliffs; sometimes placed in genus Erysimum
	2.	flower - reproductive organ of angiosperm plants especially one having showy or colorful partsblossom, bloomangiosperm, flowering plant - plants having seeds in a closed ovaryfloret, floweret - a diminutive flower (especially one that is part of a composite flower)apetalous flower - flower having no petalsinflorescence - the flowering part of a plant or arrangement of flowers on a stalkray floret, ray flower - small flower with a flat strap-shaped corolla usually occupying the peripheral rings of a composite flowerbud - a partially opened flowerstamen - the male reproductive organ of a flowerreproductive structure - the parts of a plant involved in its reproductionpistil - the female ovule-bearing part of a flower composed of ovary and style and stigmacarpel - a simple pistil or one element of a compound pistilovary - the organ that bears the ovules of a flowerfloral leaf - a modified leaf that is part of a flowerchlamys, floral envelope, perianth, perigone, perigonium - collective term for the outer parts of a flower consisting of the calyx and corolla and enclosing the stamens and pistilschrysanthemum - the flower of a chrysanthemum plant
	3.	flower - the period of greatest prosperity or productivityefflorescence, flush, heyday, peak, prime, blossom, bloomperiod, period of time, time period - an amount of time; "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his recovery"; "Picasso's blue period"golden age - a time period when some activity or skill was at its peak; "it was the golden age of cinema"
Verb	1.	flower - produce or yield flowers; "The cherry tree bloomed"bloom, blossomdevelop - grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment; "A flower developed on the branch"; "The country developed into a mighty superpower"; "The embryo develops into a fetus"; "This situation has developed over a long time"effloresce, burst forth - come into or as if into flower; "These manifestations effloresced in the past"

flower

noun1. bloom, blossom, efflorescence Each individual flower is tiny.2. elite, best, prime, finest, pick, choice, cream, height, crème de la crème (French), choicest part the flower of American manhood3. height, prime, peak, vigour, freshness, greatest or finest point You are hardly in the first flower of youth.verb1. bloom, open, mature, flourish, unfold, blossom, burgeon, effloresce Several of these plants will flower this year.2. blossom, grow, develop, progress, mature, thrive, flourish, bloom, bud, prosper Their relationship flowered.Related words
adjective floral
prefix antho-
like anthomaniaQuotations
"There is no `Why' about the rose, it blossoms because it blossoms"
"It pays no heed to itself, and does not care whether it is seen" [Angelus Silesius]
"The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life" [Jean Giraudoux The Enchanted]
"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment" [Georgia O'Keeffe]

Flowers

acacia, acanthus, African violet, aloe, alyssum, amaranth, amaryllis, anemone, arbutus, asphodel, aspidistra, aster, aubrietia, aubrieta, or aubretia, azalea, begonia, betony, bignonia, black-eyed Susan, bluebell, bog asphodel, bougainvillea, burdock, Busy Lizzie, buttercup, cactus, calendula, camellia, camomile or chamomile, cardinal flower, carnation, celandine, Christmas cactus, chrysanthemum, clematis, columbine, cornflower, cotoneaster, cowslip, crocus, cyclamen, daffodil, dahlia, daisy, dandelion, deadly nightshade, delphinium, digitalis, dog rose, edelweiss, eglantine, forget-me-not, foxglove, freesia, geranium, gilliflower or gillyflower, gladiolus, godetia, grape hyacinth, groundsel, guelder-rose, gypsophila, harebell, heartsease or heart's-ease, heliotrope, hellebore, hemlock, hibiscus, hollyhock, hyacinth, hydrangea, iris, jasmine, jonquil, larkspur, lavender, lily, lily of the valley, lobelia, London pride, lotus, love-in-idleness, love-lies-bleeding, lupin, magnolia, mallow, mandrake, marguerite, marigold, marjoram, meadowsweet, monkshood, Michaelmas daisy, morning-glory, narcissus, nasturtium, old man's beard, orchid, oxeye daisy, oxlip, oxtongue, pansy, passionflower, peony or paeony, petunia, phlox, pimpernel, pink, poppy, primrose, primula, ragged robin, ragweed, rose, saffron, samphire, saxifrage, scarlet pimpernel, snapdragon, snowdrop, speedwell, stock, sunflower, sweetbrier, sweet pea, sweet william, tiger lily, tulip, valerian, verbena, violet, wallflower, water lily, willowherb, wintergreen, wisteria, wood anemone, woodbine, yarrow, zinnia

flower

noun1. The showy reproductive structure of a plant:bloom, blossom, floret.2. A condition or time of vigor and freshness:bloom, blossom, efflorescence, florescence, flush, prime.3. The superlative or most preferable part of something:best, choice, cream, crème de la crème, elite, pick, prize, top.Idioms: cream of the crop, flower of the flock, pick of the bunch.4. People of the highest social level:aristocracy, blue blood, crème de la crème, elite, gentility, gentry, nobility, patriciate, quality, society, upper class, who's who.Informal: upper crust.verb1. To bear flowers:bloom, blossom, blow, burgeon, effloresce.2. To be in one's prime:flourish, shine.Idioms: cut a figure, make a splash.

Translations

开花花

flower

(ˈflauə) noun the part of a plant or tree from which fruit or seed grows, often brightly coloured and sometimes including the stem on which it grows. a bunch of flowers.花 verb (of plants etc) to produce flowers. This plant flowers in early May.开花ˈflowered adjective having a pattern of flowers. flowered material.有花卉图案的ˈflowery adjective1. having, or decorated with, flowers. a flowery hat.有花的2. (of language) using ornamental words and phrases; poetic. a flowery speech.词藻华丽的ˈflower-bed noun a piece of earth prepared and used for the growing of plants. 花坛ˈflower-pot noun a container made of earthenware, plastic etc in which a plant is grown. 花盆in flower (of a plant) having flowers in bloom. These trees are in flower in May.开花

flower

→ 开花zhCN, 花zhCN

flower

flower,

name for the specialized part of a plant containing the reproductive organs, applied to angiosperms only. A flower may be thought of as a modified, short, compact branch bearing lateral appendages. Like twigs, flowers develop from buds, and the basic floral parts (sepal, petal, stamen, and carpel) are in actual fact greatly modified leaves. A typical flower is a concentric arrangement of these parts attached at their base to the receptacle, the tip of the stem. Outermost is a whorl of leaflike green sepals (the calyx) encircling a whorl of usually showy, colored petals (the corolla). Within the corolla the stamens, bearing anther sacs full of pollenpollen,
minute grains, usually yellow in color but occasionally white, brown, red, or purple, borne in the anther sac at the tip of the slender filament of the stamen of a flowering plant or in the male cone of a conifer.
..... Click the link for more information. , surround the central carpels (ovary). Inside the ovary at the base of the pistil are the ovules, containing the female sex cells; after fertilization of the egg, the ovule becomes the seedseed,
fertilized and ripened ovule, consisting of the plant embryo, varying amounts of stored food material, and a protective outer seed coat. Seeds are frequently confused with the fruit enclosing them in flowering plants, especially in grains and nuts.
..... Click the link for more information. and the ovary becomes the fruitfruit,
matured ovary of the pistil of a flower, containing the seed. After the egg nucleus, or ovum, has been fertilized (see fertilization) and the embryo plantlet begins to form, the surrounding ovule (see pistil) develops into a seed and the ovary wall (pericarp) around the
..... Click the link for more information. . The ovary and stamens are termed essential flower parts, the petals and sepals accessory parts. The number and arrangement of the floral organs vary considerably among the many families and orders of plants and are used in the classification of plants; they also indicate the degree of evolution of the plant. In general, the higher a plant is on the evolutionary scale, the greater is the flower's complexity. The basic number of parts differs from class to class and from family to family; in monocotyledonous plants the parts generally occur in groups of three or in multiples of three, and in dicotyledons more often in groups of two, four, and five. Flowers may be staminate (lack carpels), carpellate, or both; staminate and carpellate flowers may appear on the same plant, on separate plants, or in the same inflorescence. One type of inflorescence, characteristic of the parsley family, is the umbel, in which the tiny florets are borne on separate stalks radiating out from the stem tip. Sometimes the parts serve unusual purposes: the true flowers of the dogwood and the poinsettia are inconspicuous, and the showy "petals" are really modified leaves called bracts. In the jack-in-the-pulpit the florets are clustered on a spike canopied by a large bract, the spathe; the hood of the lady's-slipper, on the other hand, is a modified sterile stamen. Grass inflorescences are tiny spikelets sheathed by protective scales called glumes (the chaff or grain). Flowers have been cultivated and bred for their beauty and their perfume from earliest times and have accumulated a vast and intricate treasury of symbolic associations derived from legend and folklore. Individual flowers have been celebrated in heraldry (roserose,
common name for some members of the Rosaceae, a large family of herbs, shrubs, and trees distributed over most of the earth, and for plants of the genus Rosa, the true roses.
..... Click the link for more information. ), in religion (lotus), and in politics (violetviolet,
common name for some members of the Violaceae, a family of chiefly perennial herbs (and sometimes shrubs, small trees, or climbers) found on all continents. Violets, including the genus Viola
..... Click the link for more information. ) and have become emblems for many countries, including Switzerland (edelweiss), France (fleur-de-lis), Scotland (thistle), the Netherlands (tulip), and the United States (see state flowersstate flowers.
Each state of the United States has designated, usually by legislative action, one flower as its floral emblem; the rose has been designated by Congress as the national flower of the United States.
..... Click the link for more information. ).

Bibliography

See S. Buchmann, The Reason for Flowers (2015).

Flower

A higher plant's sexual apparatus in the aggregate, including the parts that produce sex cells and closely associated attractive and protective parts (Fig. 1). “Flower” as used in this article will be limited, as is usual, to the angiosperms, plants with enclosed seeds and the unique reproductive process called double fertilization. In its most familiar form a flower is made up of four kinds of units arranged concentrically. The green sepals (collectively termed the calyx) are outermost, showy petals (the corolla) next, then the pollen-bearing units (stamens, androecium), and finally the centrally placed seed-bearing units (carpels, gynoecium). This is the “complete” flower of early botanists, but it is only one of an almost overwhelming array of floral forms. One or more kinds of units may be lacking or hard to recognize depending on the species, and evolutionary modification has been so great in some groups of angiosperms that a flower cluster (inflorescence) can took like a single flower.

Flower structure, median longitudinal section

Flora diversity

Most botanical terms are descriptive, and a botanist must have a large store of them to impart the multiformity of flowers. The examples that follow are only a smattering. An extra series of appendages alternating with the sepals, as in purple loosestrife, is an epicalyx. A petal with a broad distal region and a narrow proximal region is said to have a blade and claw: the crape myrtle has such petals. The term perianth, which embraces calyx and corolla and avoids the need to distinguish between them, is especially useful for a flower like the tulip, where the perianth parts are in two series but are alike in size, shape, and color. The members of such an undifferentiated perianth are tepals. When the perianth has only one series of parts, however, they are customarily called sepals even if they are petallike, as in the windflower.

A stamen commonly consists of a slender filament topped by a four-lobed anther, each lobe housing a pollen sac. In some plants one or more of the androecial parts are sterile rudiments called staminodes: a foxglove flower has four fertile stamens and a staminode. Carpellode is the corresponding term for an imperfectly formed gynoecial unit.

A gynoecium is apocarpous if the carpels are separate (magnolia, blackberry) and syncarpous if they are connate (tulip, poppy). Or the gynoecium may regularly consist of only one carpel (bean, cherry). A solitary carpel or a syncarpous gynoecium can often be divided into three regions: a terminal, pollen-receptive stigma; a swollen basal ovary enclosing the undeveloped seeds (ovules); and a constricted, elongate style between the two. The gynoecium can be apocarpous above and syncarpous below; that is, there can be separate styles and stigmas on one ovary (wood sorrel).

Placentation: (a) parietal, (b) axile, and (c) free central

Every flower cited so far has a superior ovary: perianth and androecium diverge beneath it (hypogyny). If perianth and androecium diverge from the ovary's summit, the ovary is inferior and the flower is epigynous (apple, banana, pumpkin). A flower is perigynous if the ovary is superior within a cup and the other floral parts diverge from the cup's rim (cherry). A syncarpous ovary is unilocular if it has only one seed chamber, plurilocular if septa divide it into more than one. The ovules of a plurilocular ovary are usually attached to the angles where the septa meet; this is axile placentation, a placenta being a region of ovular attachment. There are other ways in which the ovules can be attached—apically, basally, parietally, or on a free-standing central placenta—each characteristic of certain plant groups (Fig. 2).

The term bract can be applied to any leaflike part associated with one or more flowers but not part of a flower. Floral bracts are frequently small, even scalelike, but the flowering dogwood has four big petallike bracts below each flower cluster. The broad end of a flower stalk where the floral parts are attached is the receptacle. The same term is used, rather inconsistently, for the broad base bearing the many individual flowers (florets) that make up a composite flower like a dandelion or a sunflower.

Sexuality

A plant species is diclinous if its stamens and carpels are in separate flowers. A diclinous species is monoecious if each plant bears staminate and carpellate (pistillate) flowers, dioecious if the staminate and carpellate flowers are on different plants. The corn plant, with staminate inflorescences (tassels) on top and carpellate inflorescences (ears) along the stalk, is monoecious. Hemp is a well-known dioecious plant.

Nectaries

Flowers pollinated by insects or other animals commonly have one or more nectaries, regions that secrete a sugar solution. A nectary can be nothing more than a layer of tissue lining part of a floral tube or cup (cherry), or it can be as conspicuous as the secretory spur of a nasturtium or a larkspur. It can be a cushionlike outgrowth at the base of a superior ovary (orange blossom) or atop an inferior ovary (parsley family). Gladiolus and a number of other monocotyledons have septal nectaries, deep secretory crevices where the carpels come together. Substances that give off floral odors—essential oils for the most part—ordinarily originate close to the nectar-producing region but are not coincident with it. Production by the epidermis of perianth parts is most common, but in some species the odor emanates from a more restricted region and may even come from a special flap or brush. Most insect-pollinated plants have visual cues, some of them outside the human spectral range, as well as odor to bring the pollinators to the flowers and guide them to the nectar. See Secretory structures (plant)

Inflorescence

Inflorescence structure, the way the flowers are clustered or arranged on a flowering branch, is almost as diverse as floral structure. To appreciate this, one need only contrast the drooping inflorescences (catkins) of a birch tree with the coiled flowers of a forget-me-not or with the solitary flower of a tulip. In some cases one kind of inflorescence characterizes a whole plant family. Queen Anne's lace and other members of the parsley family (Umbelliferae) have umbrellalike inflorescences with the flower stalks radiating from almost the same point in a cluster. The stalkless flowers (florets) of the grass family are grouped into clusters called spikelets, and these in turn are variously arranged in different grasses.

Flowers of the arum family (calla lily, jack-in-the-pulpit), also stalkless, are crowded on a thick, fleshy, elongate axis. In the composite family, florets are joined in a tight head at the end of the axis; the heads of some composites contain two kinds, centrally placed florets with small tubular corollas and peripheral ray florets with showy, strap-shaped corollas (the “petals” one plucks from a daisy). See Inflorescence

Anatomy

Some of the general anatomical features of leaves can be found in the floral appendages. A cuticle-covered epidermis overlies a core of parenchyma cells in which there are branching vascular bundles (solitary bundles in most stamens). Sepal parenchyma and petal parenchyma are often spongy, but palisade parenchyma occurs only rarely in flowers and then only in sepals. As in other parts of the plant, color comes mostly from plastids in the cytoplasm and from flavonoids in the cell sap. Cells of the petal epidermis may have folded side walls that interlock so as to strengthen the tissue. In some species the outer walls of the epidermis are raised as papillae; apparently, this is part of the means of attracting pollinators, for the papillae are light reflectors.

Stamen

As a stamen develops, periclinal divisions in the second cell layer of each of its four lobes start a sequence that will end with the shedding of pollen. The first division makes two cell layers. The outer daughter cells give rise to the wall of the pollen sac, and the inner ones are destined to become pollen after further divisions. When mature, a pollen sac typically has a prominent cell layer just below a less distinctive epidermis. The inner wall and the side walls of an endothecium cell carry marked thickenings, but the outer wall does not. Splitting of the ripe anther is due partly to the way in which these differentially thickened walls react to drying and shrinking and partly to the smaller size of the cells along the line of splitting. See Pollen

Carpel

Like other floral parts, a carpel is made up of epidermis, parenchyma, and vascular tissue. In addition, a carpel commonly has a special tissue system on which pollen germinates and through which, or along which, pollen tubes are transmitted to the ovules. Most angiosperms have solid styles, and the transmitting tissue is a column of elongate cells whose softened walls are the medium for tubal growth. The epidermis at the stigmatic end of a carpel usually changes to a dense covering of papillae or hairs; the hairs can be unicellular or pluricellular, branched or unbranched. In taxa with hollow styles, the transmitting tissue is a modified epidermis running down the stylar canal. There are two kinds of receptive surfaces, and they are distributed among the monocotyledons and the dicotyledons with taxonomic regularity. One kind has a fluid medium for germinating the pollen, and the other has a dry proteinaceous layer over the cuticle. The proteins of the dry stigmas have a role in the incompatibility reactions that encourage outbreeding.

Ovule

Ovule development usually takes place as the gynoecium forms, but it may be retarded when there is a long interval between pollination and fertilization (oaks, orchids). A typical ovule has a stalk (funiculus), a central bulbous body (nucellus), and one or two integuments (precursors of seed coats), which cover the nucellus except for a terminal pore (micropyle). Orientation of the ovule varies from group to group. It can be erect on its stalk or bent one way or another to differing degrees. There are also taxonomic differences in the extent to which the ovule is vascularized by branches from the gynoecial vascular system. See Fruit, Reproduction (plant)

Flower

a short, limited-in-growth reproductive shoot that performs the functions of microsporogenesis, megasporogenesis, pollination (effected by pollen carrier-agents), fertilization, embryonic development, and fruit formation. The flower is borne at the end of a main or lateral stem. The peduncle, the part of the stem that bears the flower, is usually leafless. Often it is very short and barely visible; in this case the flower is said to be sessile, or attached. The peduncle becomes the short axis of the flower, which is called the flower receptacle, or torus. The variously shaped receptacle is usually broader than the peduncle and is characterized by barely noticeable internodes. Its nodes bear all the various parts of the flower: the sterile sepals and petals and the fertile stamens and carpels.

The sepals, which together form the calyx, usually serve as protective organs of the flower, especially before blooming; they often also function as supplementary organs of photosynthesis. The sepals often become petallike, taking on the functions of petals (for example, in Clematis). In some instances, through the process of evolution, the sepals have concresced into a synsepalous calyx. The petals, which serve to attract pollinators, are collectively known as the corolla. The calyx and the corolla together make up the perianth. When the flower has both a calyx and a corolla, the perianth is said to be double. A simple perianth is one in which the petals are absent or in which there are no marked differences between the calyx and the corolla.

In the center of the flower are located the stamens and carpels. The stamens are microsporophylls both in function and in origin. The most primitive ones, as seen in a number of representatives of the families Magnoliaceae and Winteraceae, consist of a broad ribbonlike membrane equipped with four linear microsporangia that are approximate in pairs and that are more or less embedded in the tissue of the membrane. In the course of evolution the stamens gradually became differentiated into the filament and the anther, which consists of two halves joined by a continuation of the filament. The stamens are known collectively as the androecium. The filaments often concresce together or with elements of the perianth or carpels. Sometimes the stamens concresce together by both the filaments and anthers or by the anthers only.

The carpels consist of highly modified and specialized megasporophylls. A single carpel is often called a simple pistil (the term “pistil” is used in various senses, often creating confusion). The most primitive type of carpel is retained in the genera Degeneria (family Degeneriaceae) and Tasmania (family Winteraceae). It consists of a short stalk and a relatively thin adaxially folded (conduplicate) membrane; externally it strongly resembles the conduplicate leaves folded into the bud. Along the carpel pass three conducting bundles (veins), of which the middle or dorsal one branches profusely. Between the middle and lateral veins are numerous ovules. In the early stages of development the margins of the carpels of Degeneria almost do not touch each other; protection of the ovules during flowering is ensured by the proximity of the broad lateral parts of the carpel, which are located between the carpel’s margins and placentas. These approximate internal surfaces concresce only after flowering, that is, during fruit development. The most diverse stages of concrescence are observed in other representatives of Winteraceae.

In all flowering plants the carpel has a special glandular tissue, called the stigma, that serves to capture pollen. In Degeneria and Tasmania the stigma is primitive and extends the entire length of the carpel. The upper part of the carpel usually extends into a slender, sterile columnar process, which supports the stigma above the ovary—the fertile part of the carpel—and serves as a passageway to the pollen tube. This specialized process is called the style or the stylodium (in which case the term “style” is only used in reference to concresced stylodia). In the early stages of evolution, the style is characterized by a descending stigma; in later stages the stigma gradually becomes localized at the top.

The aggregate of carpels in the flower is called the gynoecium. The most primitive types of gynoecia with free carpels are called apocarpous; such gynoecia characterize Magnolia, Ranunculus, and Paeonia. In the process of evolution the carpels gradually concresced among themselves, and from the apocarpous gynoecium there emerged the coenocarpous gynoecium, in which the stylodia are free, or concresced to form the style. The evolution of both the coenocarpous and apocarpous gynoecia was usually accompanied by a decrease in the number of carpels and, in most cases, in the number of ovules. An extreme form is the pseudomonomerous gynoecium, in which a single carpel is fertile and completely developed (as seen in elm, mulberry, nettle, and hemp).

Most flowers have nectaries—special excretory organs for the production of nectar. Nectaries originated in the most diverse forms in the evolution of flowering plants and on the most diverse morphological bases, that is, on the most diverse parts of the flower.

Primitive types of flowers are characterized by a relatively long receptacle, but in some cases, for example, in Myosurus and some Magnolia, there is a greatly elongated receptacle of secondary origin. In the process of evolution there has been a gradual shortening of the receptacle, as a result of which the flower parts have grown closer together and the initial spiral formation has changed to a cyclic one. The parts of a cyclic flower are usually arranged in whorls; less commonly, they are opposite. Cyclic flowers are found more frequently than spiral ones. In an intermediate position are spirocyclic flowers, such as those of Ranunculus.

Primitive flowers are actinomorphic (regular); that is, they can be divided by a vertical plane passing through the symmetrical axis into equal halves in no less than two directions. Owing to the biology of pollination, actinomorphic flowers gave rise to zygomorphic (irregular) ones, which can be divided into two halves only in a single direction (for example, the blossom of the sweet pea or snapdragon). In contrast to actinomorphic and zygomorphic flowers, which are both symmetrical, there are also asymmetrical flowers, which cannot be divided into two equal halves by a plane of symmetry (for example, cannas).

Flowers may be bisexual or unisexual. Unisexual flowers originated from bisexual ones as a result of the reduction of the stamens in some cases and of the carpels in others. Unisexual flowers often retain the rudiments of stamens and carpels. It is conjectured that the flower is descended from the reproductive shoots of the supposed ancestors of flowering plants—seed ferns. As a result of shortening, the shoot axis was converted into a receptacle. Simplification of the segmented microsporophylls and megasporophylls resulted in the simple unbranched stamens and carpels of flowering plants. (The hypothesis that the flower is descended from the strobile of Cycadaceae, Gnetaceae, or Bennettitaceae is improbable.)

The evolution of the flower, like the evolution of the strobiles of various groups of gymnosperms, set off in various directions. Thus, current theories are based on the proposition that the fundamental parts of the flower—the stamens and carpels—are descended from the sporebearing organs of the ancestors of flowering plants. It is difficult to say with certainty whether these primitive spore cases were somewhat rounded or flat or whether they were achlorophyllous or green. It is most probable that they consisted of flat and more or less simplified, possibly lobular, sporophylls, which, especially if they were megasporophylls, probably partially performed the function of photosynthesis.

REFERENCES

Kerner von Marilaun, A. Zhizn’ rastenii, vol. 2. St. Petersburg, 1900. (Translated from German.)
Golenkin, M. I. Kurs vysshikh rastenii. Moscow-Leningrad, 1937.
Eames, A. Morfologiia tsvetkovykh rastenii. Moscow, 1964. (Translated from English.)
Takhtadzhian, A. L. Osnovy evoliutsionnoi morfologii pokrytose-mennykh. Moscow-Leningrad, 1964.
Pervukhina, N. V. Problemy morfologii i biologii tsvetka. Leningrad, 1970.
Esau, K. Anatomiia rastenii. Moscow, 1969. (Translated from English.)
Fedorov, A. A., and Z. T. Artiushenko. Atlas po opisatel’noi morfologii vysshikh rastenii. [Vol. 3:] Tsvetok. Leningrad, 1975.

A. L. TAKHTADZHIAN

What does it mean when you dream about a flower?

Flowers are natural symbols of beauty, delicacy, harmlessness, and attraction (e.g., the attraction of bees to nectar). Flowers are also symbols of the deep self. In both southern Asian yoga systems and the Western esoteric tradition, flowers represent the psychic centers referred to as chakras (“wheels”). The expression “spiritual unfoldment” is a flower-related image. Finally, the dreaming mind often literalizes common verbal expressions—such as “wallflower” and “flower power”—in an effort to convey something to the conscious mind.

flower

[′flau̇·ər] (botany) The characteristic reproductive structure of a seed plant, particularly if some or all of the parts are brightly colored.

flower

1. the reproductive structure of angiosperm plants, consisting normally of stamens and carpels surrounded by petals and sepals all borne on the receptacle (one or more of these structures may be absent). In some plants it is conspicuous and brightly coloured and attracts insects or other animals for pollination 2. any similar reproductive structure in other plants 3. an embellishment or ornamental symbol depicting a flower 4. Chemistry fine powder, usually produced by sublimation
www.garden.org
www.ontariogardening.com/Tips/flowers.jsp
www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques
www.anbg.gov.au
www.sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/nsdb/climate/hardiness/intro.html

Flowers

(dreams)When we look at flowers, most of us feel some joy and vitality. At the very least, we appreciate their beauty and see their value. Flowers are beautiful and in our dreams they could represent the simplest feelings of contentment or the deepest feelings of spiritual completeness. A circular flower is a friendly sign that could be the “mandala” symbol or the symbol of wholeness that represents the “psychic center of the personality.” Additionally, the colors could symbolize the psychic centers in our bodies called chakras. Flowers also represent hope and positive growth, along with simplicity, innocence, and possibly virginity.

flower

flower

flow·er

flower

flow•er

flow·er

flower

flower

flower

Flowers

flower

flower

flower

flower

flower

flower of the flock

April showers bring May flowers

the flower of (something)

hearts and flowers

April showers bring May flowers.

the flower of —

hearts and flowers

the flower of something

hearts and flowers

April showers bring May flowers

flower children

flower of youth, the

flower

flower,

Bibliography

Flower

Flora diversity

Sexuality

Nectaries

Inflorescence

Anatomy

Stamen

Carpel

Ovule

Flower

REFERENCES

What does it mean when you dream about a flower?

flower

flower

Flowers

flower

Flow·er

flower

Patient discussion about flower

flower

Synonyms for flower

noun bloom

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noun elite

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noun height

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verb bloom

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verb blossom

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Synonyms for flower

noun the showy reproductive structure of a plant

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noun a condition or time of vigor and freshness

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noun the superlative or most preferable part of something

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noun people of the highest social level

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verb to bear flowers

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verb to be in one's prime

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Synonyms for flower

noun a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms

Related Words

noun reproductive organ of angiosperm plants especially one having showy or colorful parts

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Related Words