Herbal Antomy - Flowers

Just realized back on April 6, that the posts I wrote on anatomy never posted.  So the first one was back on January 6, then the next was April 6.  Now we have the third on Flowers.

Not an envelope

All the organs of the flower are situated on, or grow out of the apex of the flower stalk, into which they are inserted and which is called the Torus or Receptacle.

The organs of a flower are of two sorts.

1)   The leaves (or envelopes).

2)   Those peculiar organs having no resemblance to the envelopes.

Leaves (petals)

The envelopes are of two kinds (or occupy two rows, one above or within the other):

      1)  The lower or outer row is termed the Calyx, and commonly exhibits the green color of the leaves.

       2)  The inner row, which is usually of more delicate texture and forms the most showy part of the flower, is termed the Coralla.

easy to see the green calyx below the flower (coralla) on calendula

The leaves of the Coralla are called Petals, and the leaves of the Calyx are called Sepals.

The floral envelopes are collectively called the Perianth.

The essential organs enclosed within a floral envelope also come in two kinds and occupy two rows one within the other. The first of these, those next to the petals, are the Stamens. A stamen consists of a stalk called the Filament, which bears on its summit a rounded body termed the Anther, filled with a substance called Pollen.

The seed bearing organs occupy the center or summit of a flower, and are called Pistils.  In many cases the pistil is not obvious as a separate item until the plant produces fruit (seeds.)  A pistil is distinguished into three parts;

1)   the ovary containing the ovales (ovule)

2)   the style, or columnar prolongation of the ovary

3)   the stigma or termination of the style.

Pineapple Sage

 I think you can see all these parts best in Pineapple Sage and any daisy-like flower.

 A plant is said to be monoecious, where the stamens and pistils are in separate flowers on the same individual.  Sweet corn is an example of this  the tassels at the top pollinate the silks on the ears of corn.

sorrel

Dioecious is where they occupy separate flowers on different individuals.  Sorrel with its heart-shape leaves actually has male and female plants.  Important if you want to propagate them from seeds!

Polygamous is where the stamens and pistils are separate in some flowers and united in others, either on the same or two or three different plants.  Maple trees are the most commonly seen Polygamous plants, with male and female or even bisexual organs on any given tree.