Amaryllis style and stigmas

A carpel is the outer, often visible part of the female reproductive organ of a flower; the basic unit of the gynoecium. Image File history File links Amaryllis_stigma. ... Image File history File links Amaryllis_stigma. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A Phalaenopsis flower Rudbeckia fulgida A flower, (<Old French flo(u)r<Latin florem<flos), also known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). ... A gynoecium(gyne: woman) is the female reproductive part of a flower, the male part of a flower is called androecium. ...

Flowers and fruit (capsules) of the ground orchid, Spathoglottis plicata, illustrating an inferior ovary.

Raceme of flowers through fruit sequence in the orchid, Spathoglottis plicata Blume taken by Eric Guinther (December 2003) and released under the GNU Free Documentation License. ... Raceme of flowers through fruit sequence in the orchid, Spathoglottis plicata Blume taken by Eric Guinther (December 2003) and released under the GNU Free Documentation License. ...

Carpel anatomy

The parts of the carpel are:

• the stigma (from Ancient Egyption stigma "mark, puncture"), usually the terminal (end) portion that has no epidermis and is fitted to receive pollen (male gametes); it is commonly somewhat glutinous or viscid;
• the style (from Latin stilus "stake, stylus"), a stalk connecting the stigma with the ovary below containing the transmitting tract, which facilitates the growth of the pollen tube and hence the movement of the male gamete to the ovule; and
• the ovary (from Latin ovum "egg") or megasporophyll (see sporophyll) containing the female reproductive cell or ovule.

The epidermis is the outer multi-layered group of cells covering the leaf and young tissues of a plant. ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea), prairie hollyhock (Sidalcea malviflora), oriental lily (Lilium auratum), evening primrose (Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... A gamete is a specialized germ cell that fuses with another gamete during fertilization (conception) in organisms that reproduce sexually. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Modern stylus, used for touch-screen enabled devices such as the Nintendo DS and personal digital assistants Styli used in writing in the Fourteenth Century. ... Longitudinal section of female flower of squash showing ovary, ovules, pistil, and petals In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. ... A gamete is a specialized germ cell that fuses with another gamete during fertilization (conception) in organisms that reproduce sexually. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... A sporophyll is a a spore-bearing leaf located on plants such as ferns or algae. ...

The pistil

A pistil (from Latin pistillum "pestle") is made up of a carpel (if single) or carpels (if fused). A flower with two or more fused carpels (called a compound ovary or compound pistil) is termed syncarpous. However, if the gynoecium consists of one or more free, simple, and distinct carpels, each carpel makes an individual pistil and the gynoecium is termed apocarpous. Fertilization of the ovule or ovules results in development of the carpel(s) into a fruit. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Mortar and pestle A mortar and pestle are two tools used with each other to grind and mix substances. ... For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). ...

When two or more carpels are fused or joined together its called syncarpy. In a compound pistil, the carpels are fused together in one of two basic ways:

• the carpels are fused at or near their margins (parietal placentation), usually forming a single large cavity — an example would be the violet.
• the folded carpels extend in towards the center, being fused along their outer faces (laterally concrescent), with the placentae arranged around a central column of tissue (axile placentation). There may be as many locules as there are carpels; and tissue of the receptacle may be involved in forming the axillary column. An example of axile placentation would be the lily.

A complicating factor in all of this is the fact that in some species syncarpy is present only at the base of the carpels, the pistil being apocarpous in the upper part. The manner of fusing of the carpels can also vary from one part of the pistil to another. Species List of Viola species Violets (Viola) are a genus of flowering plants in the family Violaceae, with around 400-500 species throughout the world, mainly in the temperate Northern Hemisphere but also in Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in South America. ... “Lily” redirects here. ...

Inferior vs. superior ovaries

The gynoecium, the collective term for all the carpels, is the innermost whorl of the parts of a flower, and in many flowers the other parts (sepals, petals, and stamens) are attached to the receptacle beneath the gynoecium. In such cases, where the ovary lies above the attachments of the other distinct floral parts, the flower is described as hypogynous or as having a superior ovary. In some species (examples include plum, cherry, and blackberry), the other (noncarpellary) floral parts are fused to form a cup called a floral tube or hypanthium. In these flowers, the ovary lies physically lower than the lobes of the sepals and petals and below the point of attachment of the stamen filaments — the ovary is still considered to be superior but the flower is termed perigynous. A Phalaenopsis flower Rudbeckia fulgida A flower, (<Old French flo(u)r<Latin florem<flos), also known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). ... It has been suggested that Prune (fruit) be merged into this article or section. ... “Cherry tree” redirects here. ... The BlackBerry is a wireless handheld device introduced in 1999 which supports push e-mail, mobile telephone, text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services. ...

In those flowers in which the floral tube is fused with the ovary, the sepals, petals, and stamens appear to grow out from the top of the ovary, and the flower is said to be epigynous and have an inferior ovary. Examples of plant families with inferior ovaries include orchid, sunflower, and cactus. The position of the ovary is an important consideration in the identification and classification of plant species, as well as the kind of fruit that develops after fertilization. Orchid re-directs here; for alternate uses see Orchid (disambiguation) Genera Over 800 See List of Orchidaceae genera. ... Binomial name Helianthus annuus L. The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant native to the Americas in the family Asteraceae, with a large flowering head (inflorescence). ... Genera See Taxonomy of the Cactaceae A cactus (plural cacti, cactuses or cactus) is any member of the succulent plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. ...

The ovule

Main article: Ovule

Longitudinal section of female flower of squash showing ovary, ovules, pistil, and petals

The ovule (from Latin ovulum "small egg"), which represents the megasporangium, when mature, consists of one or two coats surrounding the central nucellus, except at the apex where an opening, the micropyle, is left. The nucellus is a cellular tissue enveloping one large cell, the embryo-sac or megaspore. The germination of the megaspore consists in the repeated division of its nucleus to form two groups of four, one group at each end of the embryo-sac. One nucleus from each group, the polar nucleus, passes to the centre of the sac, where the two fuse to form the so-called definitive nucleus. Of the three cells at the micropylar end of the sac, all naked cells (the so-called egg-apparatus), one is the egg-cell or oosphere, the other two, which may be regarded as representing abortive egg-cells (in rare cases capable of fertilization), are known as synergidae. The three cells at the opposite end are known as antipodal cells and become invested with a cell-wall. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Longtitudinal section of female flower, courgette Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 05:37, 21 Mar 2004 (UTC) ( ) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Longtitudinal section of female flower, courgette Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 05:37, 21 Mar 2004 (UTC) ( ) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

The carpel of a simple apocarpous gynoecium appears as a folded structure, differentiated into a basal fertile part (ovary) and an upper sterile part (style). Various interpretations of the origin from a leaf-like structure have been made (Esau, 1965), but the important anatomical description is that of a variously folded tissue surrounding a cavity (called a locule) within which projects one or more ovules, attached by or along a placenta. Typically, a carpel has two placentae. An example of a simple carpel is that of a pea, bean or Arabidopsis: the fruit develops from the single carpel consisting of two rows of ovules aligned beside one another along the placental margin. Binomial name Pisum sativum L. A pea is the small, edible round green bean which grows in a pod on the leguminous vine Pisum sativum, or in some cases to the immature pods. ... Green beans Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae) used for food or feed. ... Species See text. ...

Miscellaneous

The spice saffron is taken from the stigma of the saffron crocus, Crocus sativusi stigma is very sticky Binomial name Crocus sativus L. Saffron (IPA: ) is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. ... Species See text. ...

References

• Esau, K. 1965. Plant Anatomy, 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons. 767 pp.
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.