Question

1. a) List all of the key flower parts. also, describe the purpose of each part.

b) How might a commercial plant benefit from having just one type of pollinator?

c) Explain how a flowering plant may coevolve in response to an increase in the body size of its pollinator.

Answer 1

1. a) The four main parts of flower are:a) Petals b)Sepals c)Carpels d)Stamens

PETALS: are brightly colored and scented parts which surround the reproductive parts and all petals of a flower is called corolla. The scent and color of petals attract pollinators.

SEPALS: are green  leafy like structures that protect the plants.Collectively they are called calyx.

CARPELS: constitute the female reproductive organs compose of stigma ,style and ovary. Stigma is that where pollen lands , ovary is a slender neck like portion that leads to ovary and ovary is the part which consist of ovules or egg.

STAMENS: constitute the male reproductive organ composed of anther and filament, the anther produces pollen and filament is a slender structure that holds the anther.

b) Pollinators are those which help in carrying pollens from anther to sigma either within same plant(self pollination) or different plants(cross pollination). eg; bees insects wind etc. Single pollinator makes it easy to culture them and hence they can help produce new plants of economic importance.

c) The coevolution , (where two different organisms are each evolving in response to each other )of flowering plant and pollinator is an example of adaptation. The size of flower is also expected to increase