Ovule - Location Within The Plant

Location Within The Plant

In flowering plants, the ovule is typically located inside the organ of the flower called the gynoecium. The ovary of the gynoecium produces the ovules and ultimately becomes the fruit wall. Flowers may have one or multiple ovules per ovary. The ovules are attached to placenta in the ovary through a structure known as the funiculus, the plant equivalent of an umbilical cord. Different patterns of ovule attachment, or placentation, can be found among plants.

In gymnosperms such as conifers and similar plants, the ovules are typically borne on the surface of an ovuliferous (ovule-bearing) scale, usually within an ovulate cone (also called megastrobilus).

In some extinct plants (e.g. Pteridosperms), megasporangia and perhaps ovules were borne on the surface of leaves. In other extinct taxa, a cupule (a modified leaf or part of a leaf) surrounds the ovule (e.g. Caytonia or Glossopteris).