Английский язык для флористов

In some plants, such as poppy, magnolia, tulip, and petunia, each flower is relatively large and showy and is produced singly, while in other plants, such as aster, snapdragon, and lilac, the individual flowers may be very small and are borne in a distinctive cluster known as an inflorescence. Regardless of their variety, all flowers have a uniform function, the reproduction of the species through the production of seed.

Basically, each flower consists of a floral axis upon which are borne the essential organs of reproduction (stamens and pistils) and usually accessory organs (sepals and petals).

The floral axis is a greatly modified stem; it is usually contracted, so that the parts of the flower are crowded together on the stem tip, the receptacle. The flower parts are usually arrayed in whorls but may also be disposed spirally.

There are commonly four distinct whorls of flower parts: (1) an outer calyx consisting of sepals; within it lies (2) the corolla, consisting of petals; (3) the androecium, or group of stamens; and in the centre is (4) the gynoecium, consisting of the pistils.

The sepals and petals together make up the perianth, or floral envelope. The sepals are usually greenish, while the petals are usually colourful and showy. The androecium, or male parts of the flower, comprise the stamens, each of which consists of a supporting filament and an anther, in which pollen is produced. The gynoecium, or female parts of the flower, comprises one or more pistils, each of which consists of an ovary, with an upright extension, the style, on the top of which rests the stigma, the pollen-receptive surface.

The ovary encloses the ovules, or potential seeds.

Stamens and pistils are not present together in all flowers. When both are present the flower is said to be perfect, or bisexual, regardless of a lack of any other part that renders it incomplete. When the same plant bears unisexual flowers of both sexes, it is said to be monoecious (e.g. tuberous begonia); when the male and female flowers are on different plants, the plant is dioecious (e.

g. holly); when there are male, female, and bisexual flowers on the same plant, the plant is termed polygamous.

A flower may be radially symmetrical, as in roses and petunias, in which case it is termed regular. A bilaterally symmetrical flower, as in orchids and snapdragons, is irregular.

4. Match anatomic words and definitions:

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