spider-flower: see caper.

pinxter flower: see azalea.

pincushion flower: see teasel.

pelican flower: see birthwort.

moccasin flower: see orchid.

flower, name for the specialized part of a plant containing the reproductive organs, applied to angiosperms only. A flower may be thought of as a modified, short, compact branch bearing lateral appendages. Like twigs, flowers develop from buds, and the basic floral parts (sepal, petal, stamen, and carpel) are in actual fact greatly modified leaves. A typical flower is a concentric arrangement of these parts attached at their base to the receptacle, the tip of the stem. Outermost is a whorl of leaflike green sepals (the calyx) encircling a whorl of usually showy, colored petals (the corolla). Within the corolla the stamens, bearing anther sacs full of pollen, surround the central carpels (ovary). Inside the ovary at the base of the pistil are the ovules, containing the female sex cells; after fertilization of the egg, the ovule becomes the seed and the ovary becomes the fruit. The ovary and stamens are termed essential flower parts, the petals and sepals accessory parts. The number and arrangement of the floral organs vary considerably among the many families and orders of plants and are used in the classification of plants; they also indicate the degree of evolution of the plant. In general, the higher a plant is on the evolutionary scale, the greater is the flower's complexity. The basic number of parts differs from class to class and from family to family; in monocotyledonous plants the parts generally occur in groups of three or in multiples of three, and in dicotyledons more often in groups of two, four, and five. Flowers may be staminate (lack carpels), carpellate, or both; staminate and carpellate flowers may appear on the same plant, on separate plants, or in the same inflorescence. One type of inflorescence, characteristic of the parsley family, is the umbel, in which the tiny florets are borne on separate stalks radiating out from the stem tip. Sometimes the parts serve unusual purposes: the true flowers of the dogwood and the poinsettia are inconspicuous, and the showy "petals" are really modified leaves called bracts. In the jack-in-the-pulpit the florets are clustered on a spike canopied by a large bract, the spathe; the hood of the lady's-slipper, on the other hand, is a modified sterile stamen. Grass inflorescences are tiny spikelets sheathed by protective scales called glumes (the chaff or grain). Flowers have been cultivated and bred for their beauty and their perfume from earliest times and have accumulated a vast and intricate treasury of symbolic associations derived from legend and folklore. Individual flowers have been celebrated in heraldry (rose), in religion (lotus), and in politics (violet) and have become emblems for many countries, including Switzerland (edelweiss), France (fleur-de-lis), Scotland (thistle), Holland (tulip), and the United States (see state flowers).

cardinal flower: see lobelia.

butterfly flower, fringeflower, or poor-man's-orchid, any of the showy plants of the genus Schizanthus of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family), native to Chile but grown elsewhere as garden or greenhouse annuals. The flowers resemble butterflies and are found in a variety of colors, usually mottled. Butterfly flowers are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Polemoniales, family Solanaceae.

bird-of-paradise flower, large tropical herb (Strelitzia reginae) of the family Musaceae (banana family), native to S Africa. Its large blue and orange blossom resembles an exotic bird; it is cultivated as an ornamental in warmer regions and as a greenhouse plant, and is sold as a florists' cut flower. It is grown commercially chiefly in California and Hawaii. The bird-of-paradise is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Zingiberales, family Musaceae.

Venus's flower-basket: see Porifera.

Little Flower of Jesus: see Theresa, Saint (Theresa of the Child Jesus).

Any flowering plant that grows without intentional human aid. Wildflowers are the source of all cultivated garden varieties of flowers. A wildflower growing where it is unwanted is considered a weed. Thousands of the approximately 250,000 species of flowering plants are wildflowers. Wildflowers can be divided into three categories by location: those found in the tropics and subtropics, those in temperate regions, and those that grow on the summits of mountain chains and in the Arctic and Antarctic.

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Family Passifloraceae, composed of about 600 species of herbaceous or woody vines, shrubs, and trees in 20 genera. Members of this family grow mostly in warm regions. Many species produce edible fruits. Members of the largest genus, Passiflora, are highly prized for their showy, unusual flowers. A pedestal-like structure in the centre of the flower carries the reproductive parts of both sexes. The passionflower blossom is often used to symbolize events in the last hours (Passion) of Jesus, which accounts for the name of the group.

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Art of arranging living or dried plant material for adornment of the body or home, for public and religious ceremonies, or for festivals. Line, form, colour, texture, balance, porportion, and scale are important aspects of floral arrangement, as is the container. The earliest pictorial example is a 2nd-century Roman mosaic from the villa of Hadrian at Tivoli depicting a basket of cut flowers. Dutch and French still-life paintings of the 17th–18th centuries show the popularity of floral arrangements. Their long history in China and Japan is often associated with religious and philosophical beliefs; Japanese forms have become influential in the West. Seealso ikebana.

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Reproductive portion of any flowering plant (angiosperm). Popularly, the term applies especially when part or all of the reproductive structure is distinctive in colour and form. Flowers present a multitude of combinations of colour, size, form, and anatomical arrangement. In some plants, individual flowers are very small and are borne in a distinctive cluster (inflorescence). Each flower consists of a floral axis that bears the essential organs of reproduction (stamens and pistils) and usually accessory organs (sepals and petals); the latter may serve both to attract pollinating insects (see pollination) and to protect the essential organs. Flower parts are arrayed usually in whorls, but sometimes spirally. Four distinct whorls are common: the outer calyx (sepals), the corolla (petals), the androecium (stamens), and, in the centre, the gynoecium (pistils). The sepals are usually greenish and often resemble reduced leaves; the petals are usually colourful and showy. Pollen is produced in the stamens. A pollen-receptive stigma rests atop each pistil. The pistil, made up of one or more carpels, encloses an ovary that contains the ovules, or potential seeds. After fertilization, the ovary enlarges to form the fruit. Flowers have been symbols of beauty in most civilizations of the world, and flower giving is still among the most popular of social amenities.

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or crane flower

Ornamental plant (Strelitzia reginae) of the family Strelitziaceae. All five species of the genus Strelitzia are native to southern Africa. The large, showy Strelitzia flower has two erect, pointed petals and five stamens. One main bract, shaped like a boat, is green with red borders. It holds many long-stemmed orange and bright blue flowers, each resembling the crest and beak of a crane, giving the plant its common names.

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Any of several closely related species of the genus Lobelia, perennial plants of the lobelia family, native to North and Central America. All bear spikes of scarlet, lipped flowers on leafy stems up to 5 ft (1.5 m) tall. L. cardinalis and L. splendens, considered to be one species by some authorities, are taller than L. fulgens, the Central American parent species of the garden cardinal flower. The blue cardinal (L. siphilitica) is smaller than the others and has blue or whitish flowers.

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