Have you ever wondered what makes a flower a flower?  Did you know that the flower is actually made up of female and male parts?  Yes, that is correct.  Many flowers have male parts and female parts.  We’ll start with the male part first.

The male part of the flower is known as the stamen.  The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower.  The stamen consists of two parts.  The first parts are the anthers.  The anther is the main pollen producing part.  The second parts of the stamen are the filaments.  The filaments job is basically to hold up and support the anthers.

The female part of the flower is known as the pistil.  The pistil is the seed bearing female organ of a flower.  The pistil consists of three parts, the stigma, the style and the ovary. The stigma is the flower’s sticky surface at the pistil’s top, where the pollen germinates. The style sole function is to hold up the stigma giving it the support it needs.  The ovary contains the ovules, and these ovules become seeds after fertilization by pollen.

Not all flower parts fall into the category of male and female.  There are quite a few other parts of the flower.  Some of these other parts of the flower are petals, sepals, receptacle, and the peduncle.  The petals are usually bright so they can attract the pollinators.  The sepals are very important because they protect the flower bud when it is developing.  The receptacle is a portion of the stalk with flower structure, and last but not least, the peduncle is also known as the flowers stalk.

The next time you look at a flower, take the time to notice what each individual part of the flower is actually doing.  Flowers are beautiful, complex living organisms.  Get to know your plants, and growing better flowers and fruit will become even more enjoyable.  Always remember that Dyna-Gro™ is The Nutrition Solution^® to optimize your plants’ growth.