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Diagram of flower parts. In botany, floral morphology is the study of the diversity of forms and structures presented by the flower, which, by definition, is a branch of limited growth that bears the modified leaves responsible for reproduction and protection of the gametes, called floral pieces.
Thirdly, plant morphology studies plant structure at a range of scales. At the smallest scales are ultrastructure, the general structural features of cells visible only with the aid of an electron microscope, and cytology, the study of cells using optical microscopy. At this scale, plant morphology overlaps with plant anatomy as a
The number of species of flowering plants is estimated to be in the range of 250,000 to 400,000. [26] [27] [28] This compares to around 12,000 species of moss [29] and 11,000 species of pteridophytes. [30] The APG system seeks to determine the number of families, mostly by molecular phylogenetics. In the 2009 APG III there were 415 families. [31]
Flowering plants usually face evolutionary pressure to optimize the transfer of their pollen, and this is typically reflected in the morphology of the flowers and the behavior of the plants. [54] Pollen may be transferred between plants via several 'vectors,' or methods. Around 80% of flowering plants make use of biotic or living vectors.
The remainder of the vascular plant sections address the higher plants (spermatophytes or seed plants, i.e. gymnosperms and angiosperms or flowering plants). In the higher plants, the terrestrial sporophyte has evolved specialised parts. In essence, they have a lower, underground component and an upper, aerial component.
The flower is the characteristic structure concerned with sexual reproduction in flowering plants (angiosperms). Flowers vary enormously in their structure (morphology). A perfect flower, like that of Ranunculus glaberrimus shown in the figure, has a calyx of outer sepals and a corolla of inner petals and both male and female sex organs.
Plant morphology is the field in botany that studies the diversity in forms, with the naked eye or slight optical magnification. This is opposed to plant anatomy (see Category:Plant anatomy ) that needs to cut into plants to be able to study its subject, usually with a microscope.
Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 5 cm (2 in) in diameter or up to 30 cm (1 ft) ("dinner plate"). The majority of species do not produce scented flowers. Like most plants that do not attract pollinating insects through scent, they are brightly colored, displaying most hues, with the exception of blue.