Lesson 1 of 12 · 6 min
The flower and its parts
NCERT §1.1
When Anu first spots a bud on the mango tree, the tree made its decision to flower weeks earlier. What was happening inside it before any bud could be seen?
The lesson in notes
In short
For the plant, the flower is the organ of sexual reproduction; for people it also has aesthetic, ornamental, social, religious and cultural value.
The decision to flower is taken well before a flower is visible. Hormonal and structural changes start first, a floral primordium differentiates, inflorescences form and bear floral buds, and the buds open into flowers.
Inside the flower two whorls carry reproduction: the androecium, made of stamens, is the male part, and the gynoecium, made of one or more pistils, is the female part.
Pre-fertilisation events are everything that happens before the gametes fuse: making pollen in the anther, making the embryo sac in the ovule, and carrying pollen to the stigma.