Flower Parts

If you are interested in hybridyzing your flowers now or in the future, knowing certain parts of the flower and understanding how they work to create that flower, and seed, becomes essential. This knowledge and understanding will allow you to begin crossing and pollinating many of your plants already in your collection. It may even inspire you to collect some others in the genus, so you can experiment with the new and exciting possibilities of the seeds and their flowering outcome.

The parts of a flower are outer and inner. The outer parts are the parts that we love to admire, and that attract the bees , butterflies, hummingbirds and moths, such as the petals. Fragrance can also attract them, but for now we will discuss the flower parts that are visible.

Some outer parts also serve to support the flower (such as the peduncle ) or protect the sexual organs that later become the seed pod, as in the brugmansia shown. The calyx will first cover the inner ovary and the outer receptacle and later when the seed pod forms the calyx remains attached to protect it. The receptacle itself is also a form of protection for the ovary, enclosing it and keeping it from disease, insect pests and the weather. It also keeps it pure and in wait for the hopeful pollen that may soon fertilize the ovary and allow the plant to reproduce itself.

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