In plants, flowers are a tool for generative reproduction. Flowers have many important roles in plant growth, one of the important roles of flowers is that they can create genetic diversity, because one of the processes of plant growth is to produce new types that are good and thrive.
The function of flowers is as a place for fertilization, pollination and as a means of fertilization in plants.
There are two parts to the function of flowers, namely the sterile part and the fertile part. The sterile part means that the flower is used as decoration and complement, while the fertile part is a tool for reproduction.
In carrying out this function, each part of the flower is interconnected in carrying out this function. The flower structure consists of the parent flower stalk, flower stalk, flower leaves, leaf stalks, leaf protectors, flower crown, flower petals, stamens and pistils.
Each part has its own function to keep the flower alive and get food, besides that the parts inside the flower can reproduce too.
Flowers reproduce using stamens and pistils. Inside the pistil there are sex cells, while inside the stamen there is pollen.
In the process of pollination of flowers, pollen has a very important function. So, what is meant by pollen? What parts of a flower?
This article will explain everything you need to know and understand regarding flowers. Where the components of flowers and their functions will be explained, Happy reading!
Flower Parts
In general, flower plants consist of the following parts:
1. Flower Petals
This part can also be called Calix. The petals are the outermost part of the flower and are the part that is easily visible. The function of flower petals is to protect the flower when it is still young, namely when it is still in bud form.
In general, flower petals have a color like the color of leaves, namely green. However, there are flower petals that have other colors, at first glance they look like flower crowns. Flower petals that have colors other than green are Bougainvillea plants.
Each piece of flower petal is called a sepal. Some types of flowers also have additional petals that grow side by side, and these additional petals are usually called epicalyx.
2. Flower Crown
The flower crown is also called the corolla or flower crown. The flower crown is the part of the flower that is inside or next to the flower petals. The flower crown is a decoration of all parts of the flower.
Flower crowns usually have varying colors so they look attractive and beautiful. The size of the flower crown is larger than the flower petals.
This part tends to emit a fragrant aroma, but there are also those that have no aroma, there are even some types of flowers that emit a strong and unpleasant aroma, for example, corpse flowers.
The color of the flower crown, which has a variety of colors and a fragrant aroma, can make the flower look attractive to humans and several types of insects such as butterflies, bees and other animals.
Apart from being a decoration that can beautify the entire plant, the flower crown also has another function, namely to protect the flower’s sexual organs such as pollen and pistils.
The flower crown protects the pollen and pistil when the pollination process occurs. Each piece of the flower crown is called a petala. In the crown of the flower there are vessels whose function is to supply food to the flower.
3. Stamens
Stamens can also be called stamens. The stamens are the male genital organs found in the flower. These stamens are formed from leaf metamorphosis.
The shape and function of stamens in all plants are generally similar. In some types of flowers that have unattractive crowns, there are usually stamens that look attractive, for example the tasbih flower or in Latin Canna Indica.
What are the parts of the stamen? Stamens have several parts, such as:
1. Stalk
The stamen is the part of the stamen whose function is to position the anther higher than the flower crown. The shape of the sari stalk is like a thread, has a cross section and generally has a round shape.
2. Anthers
The anther has another name, namely Anther. The anther is the part of the stamen found at the end of the stamen. Inside the anther, there are two sari chambers, where in the sari chamber there is pollen.
3. Connecting the sari room
The connector for the sari chamber is the stem or stalk of the sari which has the function of connecting the two parts of the anther on the right and the left.
4. Pistil
The pistil has another name, namely pistillum. The pistil has a function as a female genital organ. The pistil is usually located in the deepest part of the flower. The pistil is a composition of leaves that have undergone a metamorphosis process.
The leaves that make up the pistil are usually called fruit leaves or carpelum and the entirety of the leaves that make up the pistil is called the gynaecium.
In plants with naked seeds, the pistil is the result of the leaf metamorphosis process. Examples include the pilgrim fern or in Latin Cycas Rumphii.
The pistil is the female genital organ in flowers, so inside it there are egg cells. After being fertilized by sperm from pollen, the pistil will develop into an organ that will grow into a new plant.
The egg cells contained in the pistil are in the ovule or ovule, where these ovules will eventually become seeds.
The pistil consists of several parts, namely as follows:
1. Pistil Head
The stigma is the part at the very top of the pistil. The stigma functions as a place to receive pollen during the pollination process.
2. Pistil stalk
The pistil is a channel that connects the stigma to the fruit ovary or ovary. The pistil also has another function as a support for the pistil head so that it remains upright, sturdy and does not change its position.
The pistil has a pollen tube which has the function of helping the fertilization process by delivering pollen to the ovary or ovary.
3. Fruit
The ovary or also known as the ovary is the pistil at the base of the flower. The fruit will grow large after the pollination process is complete. Inside the ovary there is a carpell or carpellum, namely the fruit leaf which contains the ovule or ovule.
4. Ovules
The ovule or other term, ovule, is the part found in seed plants which has the function of protecting and housing the egg cells.
The ovule will develop into a seed after the fertilization process is complete. The ovule will be visible in groups of open-seed plants and in groups of flowering plants that are covered in fruit ovaries.
These are the parts of a flower, where each part has its own function because flowers are one part of a plant that needs food to grow and survive.
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What is Pollen
“Pollen or Pollen in English is a tool for generative reproduction and a means of dispersal found in flowering plants.”
Pollen is a modification of sperm cells. Cytologically, pollen is a cell consisting of three nuclei, each of which is called the vegetative nucleus, generative nucleus I and generative nucleus II.
The cells contained in pollen are protected by two layers, namely the inner layer which is on the inside and the exine layer which is on the outside, its function is to prevent dehydration, this is because pollen cannot survive in a completely free environment.
Pollen or Pollen itself is not male gametes, but contains vegetative (non-reproductive) pollen grains, cells, and generative (reproductive) cells which contain two nuclei, namely the nuclear tube that produces pollen tubes and the generative nucleus that forms two sperm cells.
A group of cells surrounded by a cellulose cell wall is called the intine, and the one holding the outer wall consisting of sporopollenin is called the exine.
Pollen is produced in the microsporangium contained within an Angiosperm flower. Pollen is usually spherical in shape.
The smallest pollen grains have a diameter of around 0.006 mm and the largest reach 0.09 – 0.1 mm. The study of pollen is called Palynology which is useful in other studies such as paleontology, archaeology, forensics and paleoecology.
Reproductive Process in Flowers
To maintain the continuity of the species, plants of course carry out a reproductive process.
Plants that have flowers usually reproduce by forming seeds through the process of sexual reproduction. Sex cells in the form of pollen will combine with female sex cells which come from the pistil or fruit ovary.
For fertilization to occur, pollen must enter the pistil. Some flowers can fertilize by themselves, if the stamens are present in the same flower.
If the stamens are in another flower, the fertilization process must be assisted by wind or animals for the pollination process.
The pollination process occurs when the wind can carry pollen to the pistil. Apart from that, animals such as bees land on male flowers, then pollen sticks to their legs and feathers, after which the bees carry them to flowers that have female sex.
Read Also : What are Female Reproductive Organs? This is its function and how to care for it
Products from Pollen that are Beneficial for Human Health
Apart from playing an important role in the fertilization process in plants, pollen also has very important and useful benefits for human health.
The pollen carried by bees is attached to their bodies, then collected through the saliva of worker bees which ultimately produces bee pollen products. Bee pollen is wrapped by bees into pellet powder.
Bee pollen is a mixture of pollen, nectar and bee saliva which contains many abundant nutrients so it can provide many benefits for the body’s health.
As an alternative to honey, bee pollen is widely consumed and is quite well known by the public as a supplement to add nutrients that can increase energy and maintain stamina in the body.
However, you must use bee pollen carefully, because sometimes this product causes certain side effects such as allergies. Because there is a lot of nutritional content which is quite abundant, below are several benefits that can be obtained by consuming bee pollen, including:
1. Has a variety of nutritional content
Bee pollen contains approximately 250 biologically active substances, including carbohydrates, proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants and proteins.
However, the nutritional content contained in bee pollen depends on the plant source and the season in which it is collected.
For example, several studies have found that bee pollen collected from pine plants can have around 7 percent protein, while pollen from date palm trees can contain around 35 percent protein.
In plants there are various nutrients that can be beneficial for growth and are also useful when consumed by humans.
2. Rich in antioxidants
Antioxidants can protect the body from dangerous molecules called free radicals. The impact of free radicals is usually related to chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
In bee pollen there are various kinds of antioxidants such as flavonoids, carotenoids, quercetin, kaempferol, and glutathione which can eliminate bacteria, fight infection, inhibit tumor growth and reduce chronic inflammation.
3. Reduces the risk of heart disease
Heart disease is one of the main causes of death throughout the world. Both high cholesterol and high blood pressure can increase the risk of heart disease.
The benefit that bee pollen can provide is that it can reduce risk factors for heart disease, such as lowering blood cholesterol levels, especially dangerous LDL cholesterol.
4. Improves Liver Function
The liver is a vital organ whose function is to remove toxins in the blood. Bee pollen can increase the liver’s ability to carry out the detoxification process. Apart from that, bee pollen can also protect the liver from damage caused by toxic substances, such as drug overdose.
5. Contains compounds that are anti-inflammatory
Bee pollen is also commonly used in traditional medicine to reduce swelling or inflammation. Because in bee pollen there are several compounds that have anti-inflammatory properties which can reduce the production of omega-6 fatty acids from inflammatory processes, namely arachidonic acid.
This is a product produced from plant pollen carried by bee insects which ultimately becomes bee pollen, which has good health properties such as being rich in nutrients, rich in antioxidants, can reduce the risk of heart disease, improve liver function, and contains anti-inflammatory compounds. inflammation.
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Conclusion
Flowers or other names for flowers are the part of a plant that generally gives a beautiful appearance and emits a fragrant aroma. Flowers are one part of a plant organ that has a biological function.
Where the function is to trigger the reproductive process in plants by bringing pollen and pistils together.
Flowers have a very important function because in one part of the flower the process of pollination and fertilization takes place.
After the fertilization process is complete, the plant can reproduce by producing fruit. Because they have a beautiful and attractive shape, flowers are sometimes used as ornamental plants.
In the fertilization process the role of pollen is very important. Pollen is coarse powder containing plant seeds that produce male gametes or sperm cells. Pollen has a hard coat to protect sperm cells during the fertilization process.
This is an article that explains what the components of flowers are, including pollen. Hopefully all the discussions in this article are useful for you, Mudalovers.
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