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What Are the Reproductive Organs of the Flower?

The sole purpose of a flower's existence is to undergo an elaborate series of steps resulting in reproduction. Flowering plants are known as angiosperms and are defined as "collections of reproductive and sterile tissue," according to the Estella Mountain Community College website. The pistil and the stamen of a flower are reproductive organs that contain complex female and male reproductive counterparts, respectively. Each reproductive organ works together to produce seeds.

Stigma
- The stigma is one of three female counterparts that make up the gynoecium reproductive organs of the flower. It is a receptive surface involved in the first stage of interaction between the male and female counterparts. Pollen lands on this organ and germinates, initiating the growth of a pollen tube towards the other female flower organs.
Style
- The style is the female reproductive organ of the flower that acts as a site for pollen tube growth towards the flower's ovary. Separating the stigma and the ovary, this hollow channel is populated by the anther's pollen tube during fertilization. The pollen tube's growth is directed towards the ovary by a concentration of gamma amino butyric acid and a combination of peptide and nitric oxide gradients, which line the style's interior, according to the Kimball's Biology Pages website.
Ovary
- The ovary is the female reproductive organ of the flower that is active in the final stage of angiosperm fertilization and reproduction. Sperm cells which have previously migrated through the anther's pollen tube enter the interior of the ovary through the ovule chamber. The ovary contains one or more ovules, which are the female gametophytes of the flower. This collection of female cells is also referred to as the embryo sac. The pollen tube enters the ovules through the micropyle, and sperm cells fuse with female gametophytes during double fertilization. An endosperm nucleus is formed, resulting in the formation of a seed.
Anther
- The male reproductive counterpart of the flower is called the anther, which acts as the site for pollen production. The anther consists of four microsporangia, which undergo the process of meiosis in order to produce microspores (pollen). During meiosis, microspore mother cells located within anther sacs produce pollen grains.The resulting grains of pollen contain two to three cells that comprise the male components of the flower, called gametophytes. Pollen grains are transferred to the female components of the flower by means of wind or insects during the process of pollination. Before or after pollination, mitosis occurs within pollen spores and produces two sperm cells, which will fertilize the flower once they have reached its female counterparts.

Nature