WHAT gender is that flower in the window?

Design and InstallationGarden Caregarden TriviaIndoor plantsPlant Health Care
Written By Peter Morris

Sexual reproduction

 

Primitive plants - ferns, mosses and conifers do not produce flowers.

Modern plants (Angiosperms) create flowers as a way of expressing their sexual reproduction. These vary immensely in their shape, color, size, and even pertinent parts!

We say a flower is “complete” when it has all the parts necessary for reproduction. They are also called “bisexual” or “hermaphroditic”. In addition to colorful sepals and petals, it has stamens – the male part which contains pollen (sperm), and a pistil/ovary – the female parts with the ovule (egg). A fertilized ovule becomes a seed.

This diagrams shows a "complete" flower

 

Hibiscus is another good example

 

Plant Parts

 

Not all plants have flowers with all the parts! Some form either male or female flowers - we call these “unisexual”.  Squash and Begonias are such examples. 

 

Look closely and you can see the ovary (squash) below petals in the female flowers

 

Notice the triangular shaped ovary below the female flowers - the male ones have none

 

If both male and female flowers are produced on the same plants - we call those plants “monoecious”.  Also like in birch with its two distinct catkins, or in melons, cucumbers and pumpkins.

 

Long male Birch catkins with smaller female ones above

 

If the male and female flowers are produced on separate plants we call those “dioecious”.  A sample is Holly. BTW – Dioecious comes from the Greek – meaning two households.

Confused yet ? Wait. There is a myriad of combinations and exceptions as well! 

Some plants change the sex of their flowers over time - this is called “sex switching”. Young plants produce mainly male flowers but as they age, they produce mainly female flowers. Case in point – Jack in the pulpit.

 

Jack in the pulpit

 

My favorite plants are the “Androgynomonoecious”. They covered all bases by having male, female and bisexual flowers on the same plant! Note: also called  polygamomonoecious”, or “trimonoecious”. This occurs in papaya.

 

Papaya with three distinct types of flowers

 

Self pollination

 

One more thing.  Most flowers are not able to self pollinate from the same flower.  Meaning – you can't self fertilize – also known as “self-incompatibility”. 

In higher plants this eliminates damaging recessive mutations as its unlikely the other plant has the same one. It also increases the genetic variation which helps the offspring with adaptability in other environments.

“Allogamy” also avoids self pollination – its when male / female parts of a bisexual flower mature at different times.

Anatomy of flowering plants not your thing? Just enjoy the beauty in flowers - next time you see one - take a closer look !

Passion flower

 

 

SEXUALITY IN FLOWERING PLANTS - its complicated !

PLANT SPECIALISTS

GREENING NEW YORK FOR OVER 51 YEARS !

 

 

Article written by our Staff Horticulturist, Peter B Morris, BSc, MSc, MBA

All photographs used with permission @SHUTTERSTOCK

 

 

Peter Morris

Peter was born and raised on a beautiful green island in the midst of a tropical rainforest. He was introduced into the world of plants at the age of six when his grandmother, an avid Spanish gardener herself, asked him to help her grow seeds for her pepper garden. He was hooked! By the time he was a teen, he had his own rose and orchid collection numbering in the hundreds. Botany was in his blood, and that is what he set out to study.

His passion brought him to NY in the late seventies to further his education. His tenacity allowed him to work full time at Plant Specialists while he completed a MS in Plant Biology. As a manager at the time he felt unsatisfied with his knowledge of business and business processes. Peter felt compelled to learn, so he then pursued and completed an MBA in Quality Management within a few short years.

Peter’s other passion is teaching. His natural ability is quickly consumed by our staff in all subjects in Botany, Horticulture, and Landscaping. He created an immense reference library of more than 3,500 plants providing an invaluable resource for our staff.

Peter’s breadth of knowledge and wisdom allows him to effectively diagnose the needs of plants. Sometimes just by walking into a garden he can create a prescription that fixes even the hardest issue. He is our Staff Botanist, Diagnostician, and all around Mentor. Recently, he has put his immense knowledge and skills into developing a new department that focuses on Plant Healthcare. As he puts it, “Magic through Science”. The PHC staff that surround him have avidly consumed his teachings. Substantially developing their own plant wisdom, many have taken on difficult plant health issues with spectacular results.

Plant Healthcare has been an instant success with customers! The proper treatment of insects and diseases including Organic methods has made pest control a necessity for every plant. Correcting hormonal imbalances caused by planting in containers or refurbishing soils leached of nutrients by irrigation systems are big challenges PHC has become quite comfortable addressing. The scientific approach to the complex demands of keeping plants healthy in our harsh city environment has made many a customer say WOW!

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