A flower, also known as a bloom or blossom,[1] is the reproductive structure found

in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). Flowers consist of a

combination of vegetative organs – sepals that enclose and protect the developing
flower. Petals attract pollinators, and reproductive organs that produce
gametophytes, which in flowering plants produce gametes. The male gametophytes,
which produce sperm, are enclosed within pollen grains produced in the anthers. The
female gametophytes are contained within the ovules produced in the ovary.[2][3] In
some plants, multiple flowers occur singly on a pedicel (flower stalk), and some
are arranged in a group (inflorescence) on a peduncle (inflorescence stalk).[2]

Most flowering plants depend on animals, such as bees, moths, and butterflies, to
transfer their pollen between different flowers, and have evolved to attract these
pollinators by various strategies, including brightly colored, large petals with
patterns only visible to under ultraviolet light, attractive scents, and the
production of nectar, a food source for pollinators.[4][2] In this way, many
flowering plants have co-evolved with pollinators to be mutually dependent on
services they provide to one another—in the plant's case, a means of reproduction;
in the pollinator's case, a source of food.[5]

When pollen from the anther of a flower is transferred to the stigma to another, it
is called pollination. Some flowers may self-pollinate, producing seed using pollen
from a different flower of the same plant, but others have mechanisms to prevent
self-pollination and rely on cross-pollination, when pollen is transferred from the
anther of one flower to the stigma of another flower on a different individual of
the same species. Self-pollination happens in flowers where the stamen and carpel
mature at the same time, and are positioned so that the pollen can land on the
flower's stigma. This pollination does not require an investment from the plant to
provide nectar and pollen as food for pollinators.[6] Some flowers produce
diaspores without fertilization (parthenocarpy).[7] After fertilization, the ovary
of the flower develops into fruit containing seeds.[2]

Flowers have long been appreciated for their beauty and pleasant scents, and also
hold cultural significance as religious, ritual, or symbolic objects, or sources of
medicine and food.

Etymology
Flower is from the Middle English flour, which referred to both the ground grain
and the reproductive structure in plants, before splitting off in the 17th century.
It comes originally from the Latin name of the Italian goddess of flowers, Flora.
The early word for flower in English was blossom,[8] though it now refers to
flowers only of fruit trees.[9]

Morphology

Diagram of flower parts.

Main article: Floral morphology

The morphology of a flower, or its form and structure,[10] can be considered in two
parts: the vegetative part, consisting of non-reproductive structures such as
petals; and the reproductive or sexual parts. A stereotypical flower is made up of
four kinds of structures arranged in whorls around the tip of a short stalk or
axis, called a receptacle.[11][2] The four main whorls (starting from the base of
the flower or lowest node and working upwards) are the calyx, corolla, androecium,
and gynoecium. Together the calyx and corolla make up the non-reproductive part of
the flower called the perianth, and in monocotyledons, may not be differentiated.
If this is the case, then they are described as tepals.[2][12]

Perianth
Main article: Perianth
Calyx
The sepals, collectively called the calyx, are modified leaves that occur on the
outermost whorl of the flower.[2] They are leaf-like, in that they have a broad
base, stomata and chlorophyll and may have stipules. Sepals are often waxy and
tough, and grow quickly to protect the flower as it develops.[13][14] They may be
deciduous, but will more commonly grow on to assist in fruit dispersal. If the
calyx is fused it is called gamosepalous.[13]

Corolla
The petals, collectively called corolla, are almost or completely fiberless leaf-
like structures that form the innermost whorl of the perianth. They are often
delicate and thin and are usually colored, shaped, or scented to encourage
pollination.[2][15] Although similar to leaves in shape, they are more comparable
to stamens in that they form almost simultaneously with one another, but their
subsequent growth is delayed. If the corolla is fused together it is called
sympetalous.[16] In monocotyledonous flowers (e.g., Lilium sp.), petals and sepals
are indistinguishable and are individually called tepals. Petals also tend to have
patterns only visible under ultraviolet light, which are visible to pollinators but
not to humans.[2]

Reproductive
Main article: Plant reproductive morphology

Reproductive parts of easter lily (Lilium longiflorum). 1. Stigma, 2. Style, 3.

Stamens, 4. Filament, 5. Petal
Androecium
The androecium, consisting of stamens, is the whorl of pollen-producing male parts.
Stamens consist typically of an anther, made up of four pollen sacs arranged in two
thecae, connected to a filament, or stalk.[2] The anther contains microsporocytes
which become pollen, the male gametophyte, after undergoing meiosis. Although they
exhibit the widest variation among floral organs, the androecium is usually
confined just to one whorl and to two whorls only in rare cases. Stamens range in
number, size, shape, orientation, and in their point of connection to the flower.
[15][16]

In general, there is only one type of stamen, but there are plant species where the
flowers have two types; a "normal" one and one with anthers that produce sterile
pollen meant to attract pollinators.[17]

Gynoecium
The gynoecium, consisting of one or more carpels, is the female part of the flower
found on the innermost whorl. Each carpel consists of a stigma, which receives
pollen, a style, which acts as a stalk, and an ovary, which contains the ovules.[2]
Carpels may occur in one to several whorls, and when fused are often described as a
pistil. Inside the ovary, the ovules are attached to the placenta by structures
called funiculi.[18][19]

Variation
Although this arrangement is considered "typical", plant species show a wide
variation in floral structure.[20] The four main parts of a flower are generally
define