FLOWER DISSECTION

Reproduction in Flowering Plants
The 7th and 8th graders have been doing flower dissections in lab learning about angiosperm. The angiosperms are seed-bearing plants that produce flowers. Flower structures can be divided into two groups: the essential organs and the accessory organs. The essential organs are the reproductive structures, which include the stamens (male) and the pistils (female). The accessory organs are the sepals and petals, which surround and protect the essential organs.

The stamen is the male reproductive organ and consists of two parts: the anther and the filament. The anther is the enlarged structure at the top of the stamen. Inside the anther are pollen sacs. Special cells within the pollen sacs undergo meiosis to form pollen grains. Each pollen grain contains two sperm nuclei. When the pollen grains mature, the pollen sacs split open to release the dust-like pollen. The filament is a thin stalk that supports the anther.