This process is called pollination. The pollen then joins together with, or fertilizes, the ovules, and produces new seeds. It reaches heights of about 33ft 10m. The large, scented flower petals of the lily act like a magnet to attract insects, so that they can carry pollen to other flowers and pollinate them. This hibiscus originally came from China, but is now popular in gardens across the world thanks to its large, colorful flowers. For example, the Venus fly trap has leaves covered by little hairs.
When a bug lands on the hairs, the trap snaps shut and digestive juices digest the bug. Other carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants have leaves that form pitchers that are full of digestive fluids.
Insects, frogs, and other small creatures are attracted to the nectar and bright colors on the pitchers and flowers. Some unfortunate critters fall in, drown, and are digested.
Not all flowers smell good. One of the world's rarest, largest, smelliest, and strangest looking flower is the titan arum, or the corpse flower. It is called the corpse flower because it smells like a rotting dead body. The bloom is over 8 foot tall and 12 feet in circumference. They smell like rotting flesh in order to attract flies, their preferred pollinator. People have been known to pass out from the smell! The largest Flower in the world is the flower of the Puya raimondii , which has a flower stalk 35, feet tall and bears over 8, white flowers.
Mimosa punica , or sensitive plant, will actually fold up its leaves when it is touched. It has whitish pink fuzzy flowers that look like little pom poms. Snap Dragon flowers look like little mouths. If you squeeze the sides of the flower, the mouth will open and it can "eat" things. When you release the sides of the flower, it will close again. Lunaria, or money plant, has purple flowers that turn into silver papery quarter shaped seedpods that can be used like play money or jewelry.
Hollyhocks are fun flowers for kids. They have large beautiful flowers that can be made into dolls. Cut off a flower, bud and all for the body and skirt and then choose a bud for the head.
Attach it with a toothpick. Draw a face with markers. Press and dry flowers and make crafts. Pick flowers that can be flattened, like violets and put them between the pages of very heavy books.
The pressed flowers can be made into placemats, jewelry, and other crafts. One of the fun facts about flowers is that some flowers can be eaten! Flowers of the squash flowers, such as pumpkin blossoms, can be fried in a batter and eaten. Violas, nasturtiums, pansies, and violets can be candied or frozen into ice cubes. Punctuating the green, many trees and plants begin to flower.
These Bradford Pear trees are among the first trees to bloom each Spring. They smell horrible. The scent of Bradford Pear tree blooms has been compared to the smell of dead fish. But why would flowers stink? If flowers stink, there must be a reason. Flowers contain both male and female reproductive organs. Deep inside a flower is an ovary which contains ovules or eggs —the female gamete sex cell of the flower. Pollen—produced by the male part of the flower—contains the male gamete.
Plant reproduction occurs by pollination. During pollination, pollen, produced by the anther, is transferred to the sticky stigma. Once there, the male gamete within the pollen migrates down to fertilize an ovule within the flower ovary. The fertilized ovule will grow and divide, eventually forming a seed. That seed contains everything necessary to form a new plant. There are two types of pollination: self-pollination and cross-pollination. Self-pollination occurs when pollen from the anther of a flower is transferred to the stigma of the same flower, or to another flower on that same plant.
Plants that employ this method of pollination include orchids, sunflowers, tomatoes, peaches, and peas. The fact that peas are able to self-pollinate made them ideal for the experiments that Gregor Mendel performed that led to our understanding of genetics and heredity. Other plants including grasses, dandelions, daffodils, and tulips use cross-pollination and only permit fertilization of flowers by pollen from a different plant of the same species.
How does the pollen get from one plant to another? Some plants rely on the wind to transfer their pollen. While most of us associate bees with pollination, other insects and even small animals are important pollinators. As they stop at each flower, they inadvertently pick up pollen grains which they then transfer to another plant as they continue their quest. Because plants depend on these pollinators for their survival, they use many methods to advertise their flowers.
Some flowers use vibrant colors, others use fragrance, and many use a combination of both.
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