A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs. Flowers may facilitate outcrossing (fusion of sperm and eggs from different individuals in a population) or allow selfing (fusion of sperm and egg from the same flower). Some flowers produce diaspores without fertilization (parthenocarpy). Flowers contain sporangia and are the site where gametophytes develop. Flowers give rise to fruit and seeds. Many flowers have evolved to be attractive to animals, so as to cause them to be vectors for the transfer of pollen.
In addition to facilitating the reproduction of flowering plants, flowers have long been admired and used by humans to beautify their environment, and also as objects of romance, ritual, religion, medicine and as a source of food.
Read more about Flower: Morphology, Development, Floral Function, Pollination, Fertilization and Dispersal, Evolution, Symbolism, Usage
Famous quotes containing the word flower:
“Why hast thou nothing in thy face?
Thou idol of the human race,
Thou tyrant of the human heart,
The flower of lovely youth that art;”
—Robert Bridges (1844–1930)
“Love is a barren sea, bitter and deep;
And though she saw all heaven in flower above,
She would not love.”
—A.C. (Algernon Charles)
“A young bride is like a plucked flower; but a guilty wife is like a flower that had been walked over.”
—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)