Reproductive System in Flowering Plants

Topic Content:

What is Reproduction?

Reproduction is the process that brings forth new organisms of the same kind as their parents. Offspring are produced by the process of reproduction. The flowers are the sexual parts of a flowering plant. They contain the sexual organs in which the gametes are produced.

The Structure of a Flower:

The flower is a part of the shoot modified for sexual reproduction. It develops on the receptacle, which is the flattened tip of the flower stalk or pedicel. The floral parts are arranged in circles or whorls and there may be up to four whorls.

Starting from the outside, these whorls are:

1. The Calyx made up of sepals

2. The Corolla made up of petals

3. The Androecium made up of stamens

4. The Gynoecium made up of carpels

The Calyx:

In most flowers the calyx covers and protects the inner whorls during the bud stage.

The sepals are usually green in colour, but in some plants, they are of the same colour as the petals and are described as petaloid e.g. Allamanda, or