The basic parts of a flower include the petals, sepals, stamen, and pistil.  Here is a simple diagram showing those main parts of a flower along with a short description of the function of each.

I remember learning about how flowers reproduce by getting pollinated.  I know that bees and other insects often help to pollinate flowers by passing the pollen on from one flower to another as they gather nectar.  But, I have never really been able to keep it straight in my mind as to what exactly that means.  I have never been able to look at a flower and understand the different parts and what their role is in pollination.  So, this is my attempt to get a basic understanding of the parts of a flower and show their roles.

Before we get into the parts of a flower though, remember that plants have flowers in order to reproduce and make new plants.

Here is a diagram that shows the basic parts of a flower:

Basic Parts of a Flower

Petals – These are the colorful parts of a flower that are mainly intended to attract pollinators.  The colors act like road signs showing the pollinators where the flowers’ nectar is located.  The bright colors are the flowers way of hanging out a big sign that says, ‘Over here!  Open for business.  Come and get some tasty nectar here!”

Sepals – These are often tiny green leaves at the base of a flower.  They protect the bud of the flower before it opens.

Reproduction

In order for a flower to reproduce the pollen needs to connect with the ovary.  Once this happens the ovary can grow into a seed, which is often enclosed inside of a fruit.

Male Parts of a Flower

Stamen – This is the male reproductive part of a flower.  It is actually made up of two parts – the anther and filament.  The number of stamen is usually the same as the number of petals on the flower.

• Anther – This is the part that produces and contains the pollen.
• Filament – The filament is just the tall, thin stalk that the anther sits on top of.  The filament helps to get the anther high enough so that it can come into contact with the insects that are gathering nectar from the flower.

Female Parts of a Flower

Pistil – This is the female reproductive part of a flower.  It is made up of three main parts – the stigma, style, and ovary.

• Stigma – This is the part at the center of many flowers. It is sticky so that it can catch and hold pollen.
• Style – This is a tall stalk that the stigma sits on top of.  It connects the stigma to the ovary and is like a hollow tube.   This allows the pollen that lands on the stigma to then grow a pollen tube down to the ovary inside of the style.
• Ovary – This part of a flower is usually located at the base of a flower.  Once the pollen lands on the stigma and makes its way down to the Ovary a new seed is produced inside the ovary.  Oftentimes the seed grows inside of a fruit, which is grown inside the ovary.