Flower, Fruit and Seed

Designed for Beauty Petals - most noticeable colored part; help attract bees& other creatures; surround pistil and stamen Sepals – smaller, green versions of petals located beneath petals; enclose and protect developing flower (bud) until it blossoms (opens) Bracts – colorful leaves around the flower; attract insects to flower (ex. poinsettia, dogwood)

Designed for Reproduction Pistil – long tube in the middle of the flower surrounded by petals; made up of: Stigma – top Style – curved middle Ovary – large rounded part; holds undeveloped seeds (ovules) Stamen – found around the pistil; make and hold dust like yellow grains (pollen); made up of: Anther – top; produces pollen Filament – below anther

Fertilization – process where a sperm cell from a pollen grain unites with an egg cell stored in the ovule Pollination – transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma usually by bees, flies & butterflies; sometimes birds, bats & wind. God designed flowers so that pollination is beneficial to both the flowers and creatures.

Pollination/Fertilization example Bee drawn to flower by colors of petals Bee lured deep in the flower in search for nectar (sweet liquid stored in the body of the bloom) Bee brushes against pollen-coated stamens Some of pollen sticks to the bee’s feet, will be carried back to another flower As bee crawls over flower, pollen is brushed onto the stigma Outer shell of the pollen cracks open and a special cell begins to burrow down through the pistil into the ovule (pollen tube) Sperm cells travel down the pollen tube to the egg cell in the ovule Sperm cell unites with ovule and seed begins to develop

Fruit Fruit – anything that forms from an ovary or a flower (ex. some nuts, tomatoes, apples, etc.) ** most important function of fruits – help scatter seeds

Seeds Seeds have the ability to remain dormant (inactive) Seeds need 2 things to sprout and grow moisture warmth Parts of a seed: Embryo – miniature undeveloped plant Cotyledons – contain stored food for growth Seed coat – covers and protects the embryo

Botanist – scientist who studies plants Linnaeus – one of the greatest botanists in history Believed in God’s creation Father of taxonomy – science of classification Hybrid – new variety of a plant by cross fertilization (orange + tangerine = tangelo) Plants always reproduce after their own kind – one of the great laws that God established at the time of creation.

Plant Families Composites Largest family of flowering plant Combination of many flowers Examples: daisy, dandilion

Plant families Peas 2nd largest family of flowering plants Called legumes because fruit grows in the shape of a pod Flower has 1 large petal and 2 smaller size petals Examples: green beans, peas, peanuts, soy beans

Plant Families Roses Petals grow in multiples of 5 Examples: apples, cherries, peaches, raspberries

Plant Families Lilies Petals in multiples of 3 Grow from bulbs (storehouses made with layers of thick fleshy leaves that surround a short stem)

Plant families Grasses Most important family of food producing plants 1/3 of earth’s land is covered by grasses Small flowers 2 part leaf (blade & sheath) 2 methods of reproduction Seeds scattered by wind Creeping underground stem

Types of grasses Cereal Harvested for nutrients in seeds (called grains) Most widely used grains – wheat, rice, corn Wheat – flour, bread Rice – chief food for over ½ people in the world Corn – feed livestock

Types of Grasses Turf Woody Cover lawn, athletic fields, golf courses Beautify land, prevent erosion Woody Bamboo – grows primarily in SE Asia Food for pandas, houses, bridges, fishing poles Sugar cane – eventually turned into sugar

Monocot vs. Dicot Monocot One seed part Flower petals in groups of 3 Long slender leaves with parallel veins Fibrous root system Dicot Two seed parts Flower petals in groups of 4 or 5 Broad leaves with branching veins Taproot with secondary rootlets