This is one of a series of articles designed to equip any naturalist with words that enhance learning and make field observation easier. Whether you’re a forager or a gardener, it’s useful to have a common vocabulary when talking about how plants grow. Here is a list of the more commonly used words for:
Flower Parts
Petal: Often brightly colored leaf-like part surrounding the plant’s reproductive organs.
Sepal: The second ring of leaf-like parts that protect emerging flower buds,
and may look like petals.
Bract: A third set of leaf-like parts that protect emerging flower buds.
Pistil: The female part of the flower, bearing the seed.
Ovule: The reproductive cell which becomes the seed when fertilized by pollen.
Ovary: The female reproductive organ.
Style: The tube on top of the ovary.
Stigma: The part that received pollen during fertilization.
Stamen: The male reproductive organ.
Anther: The part that contains the pollen.
Filament: The part that holds the anther.
Pollen: The male reproductive cell.
Composite: Clusters of minute flowers on one platform (receptacle), like dandelion or sunflower.
Umbel: Cluster of many flower stems all growing from the same point, like Queen Anne’s lace.
Raceme: Cluster where individual flowers are attached to a main stem by shorter stems.
Panicle: A loose, open branching cluster where flowers bloom from the center toward the edges, like baby’s breath.
Spike: Cluster of many flowers attached directly to a main stem, like pickerel weed.
This list may seem complicated, but familiarity with these terms will ensure more reliable plant identification.
Flowers precede fruit, all flowers try to produce seeds and fruit from the location of the female flower.
All trees, shrubs, vines, herbs, sedges, and grasses have flowers and fruit/seed.