Our world would not be so beautiful without flowers. They come in so many colours, shapes and fragrances. A Rose is distinctly different from a jasmine or a lily. However, all flowers have a common purpose and similar structural pattern.
All flowers have four basic parts. They are the petals, sepals, stamen and pistils. These parts, however, come in a variety of shapes, sizes and structures. There are very simple flowers such as the buttercup, while some others are very complex like the orchid. The petals of flowers vary incredibly. Some have ruffled or smooth petals, others have coloured sepals that look like petals. Though all flowers look perfect to us, there are certain elements required for a flower to be perfect. The flower should have the stamen and the pistils, the male and the female parts, in them. Roses and lilies are perfect flowers. There are flowers that do not have either of these parts. Such flowers are called ‘imperfect flowers’. Willow flowers are imperfect flowers. Some plants have both male and female flowers on them. The male flower contains only stamen and the female has only pistils.
Those engaged in the study of flowers have an interesting job, because there is an amazing variety of flowers in nature.
Picture Credit : Google