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HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM: MINI-COURSE
Botany: Floral and Reproductive
Parts and Tour of Floral Diversity
Photographs and text by Juliet Blankespoor
(WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM 7SONG AND ANNIE SEW-DEV)
Mandala of Aster family herbs (Asteraceae)
Chestnut School of
Herbal Medicine
www.ChestnutHerbs.com
HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM:
MINI-COURSE
close, the more you’ll realize how unique they actually are!
after the diagram.
Sepal =
attracting pollinators, and can get in the way of
airborne pollen. Collectively, all the petals in a
corolla.
on) and protect the developing fruit. Sepals can
serve to attract pollinators either in conjunction
with the petals or on their own (if the petals are
Stamen =
called the calyx.
Petal =
attracting pollinators.
Petals can also serve a
specialized role in pollination by functioning
as a landing pad for
insects or forming a tube that holds nectar. If a
plant is wind pollinated, it may lack petals and
sepals, because the organs aren’t necessary for
to the wind or to pollinators. Typically, there
are three or more stamens, and they surround
the pistil(s). Stamens sometimes serve to attract
pollinators, especially if petals are absent. Memorization hint: the word stamen has the word men
in it.
Pistil =
pollinated and fertilized, part of the pistil (ovary)
becomes the fruit. Flowers can have one pistil
in the center or many separate little pistils
family [Rosaceae] and buttercup family [Ranunculaceae] often have this type of arrangement).
HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM: MINI-COURSE
As a reward for wading through all those new terms, I have a treat for you—a lovely ballad by Chestnut
School alumnus Annie SewDev.
http://chestnutherbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Botany-Ballad.mp3
Now, let’s go a little deeper and explore these
organs in greater detail. Let’s start with the
stamens.
Now, let’s take a peek at the pistil.
The two primary organs of the stamen:
The three primary organs of the pistil:
Filament = The stalk of a stamen that holds
up the anther. Filaments can be squat or svelte,
demure or blingy, depending on how the flower
is pollinated. Memorization tip: think of a light
bulb’s filament.
Ovary = The enlarged basal part of a pistil that
houses the immature seeds (ovules). If a flower
is fertilized, the ovary matures into the fruit
(seed-bearing part of the plant). You can loosely
imagine the ovary of a plant being analogous to
the womb, or uterus, of a female mammal.
Anther = The organ on the tip of the stamen that
produces and releases pollen. Anthers vary in
appearance based on many factors. Some flowers
produce pollen—rather than or in addition to
nectar—with the purpose of attracting pollinators. The pollinators eat the nutritious pollen or
gather it for their larvae; as you might imagine,
these flowers have exceptionally large anthers.
“Flowers always make people better, happier,
and more helpful; they are sunshine, food
and medicine for the soul.” –Luther Burbank
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
The ovary becomes the fruit
and the ovule(s) become
the seed(s)
Style = The stalk of the pistil that connects the
ovary and the stigma. There can be one or more
styles per pistil. As you might imagine, styles vary
from compact to elongate, depending on the
pollination strategy.
Stigma = The tip of the pistil that catches pollen.
Stigmas are wondrously diverse, with many adaptations to entrap and capture pollen grains. They
are often sticky and can be frilly or convoluted to
increase surface area (greater landing area to trap
pollen grains).
HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM: MINI-COURSE
Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
Echinacea purpurea
And another treat, after trudging through all this vocabulary! The largest flower in the world, which is
quite smelly!
And a time lapse of the titan arum opening. This plant is often described as having the largest flower in
the world, but that’s not entirely correct—it possesses the largest inflorescence in the world (read on to
learn about the difference between a flower and an inflorescence).
Examples of Various Pistils and Stamens
Opium poppy
(Papaver somniferum)
Spotted trillium
(Trillium maculatum)
Ramanas rose (Rosa rugosa)
HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM: MINI-COURSE
Mint family medicinals (Lamiaceae)
The Big Picture: Why Flowers?
Now that we’ve taken a gander at several floral giants, let’s take a moment to explore why plants
expend so much energy producing flowers. (All those bright colors and botanical naughty bits are
expensive—they use a huge amount of a plant’s reserves!)
You no doubt know that plants make flowers to
reproduce. But did you know that plants also
reproduce in various vegetative ways (nonflowering reproduction), including spreading by
runners, growing bulbs, or making new plants
from severed twigs? If you’ve ever rooted a philodendron (Philodendron sp.) sprig in water or grew
a jade (Crassula ovata) plant from a severed jade
leaf, you’ve been party to vegetative reproduction.
If plants can make babies without going through
the trouble of making flowers, why do they go
the extra mile to grow these showy structures?
This answer boils down to one thing: the gene
pool, or the breadth of genetic diversity. Flowers
allow for genetic exchange among individuals
in the same species, which in turn allows for
greater variety in genetics and diversity in characteristics. Variety is deeply strengthening to
any species.
Let’s take a look at how a larger gene pool can
be advantageous to any given species. Suppose
there’s a plant species that has somewhat hairy
leaves and grows in a semiarid climate. Some
individuals have REALLY hairy leaves, and some
are just slightly covered with hairs. Hairs serve
many functions for plants, but in dry climates
one of the major advantages of hairy leaves is
reducing water loss. (Have you ever seen that
“old man” cactus, with a long gray “beard”?)
HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM: MINI-COURSE
Now let’s imagine there’s a major drought—one
of those once-in-a-century kinds that most definitely has nothing to do with climate change,
whatsoever—and the plants with the really hairy
leaves survive and go on to reproduce and further
the species. The individuals with the less hairy
leaves perish and don’t end up reproducing.
Without the really hairy plants, the species would
be no more. Extinct.
“My work is the world. Here the sunflowers,
there the hummingbird - equal seekers of
sweetness. Here the quickening yeast; there
the blue plums...” —Mary Oliver, Thirst
Now let’s imagine a totally different scenario.
There’s an unusual change in the weather patterns,
and over a decade this normally arid climate
receives a ton of rain. We’ve got our individual
plants with the hairy leaves and the ones with the
not-so-hairy leaves. In this situation, hairiness
is a detriment because hairs trap moisture, and
in a moist climate, mold can flourish and cause
diseased leaves. The hairy-leaved individuals bite
the dust, succumbing to fungal diseases, whereas
the modestly hairy plants have the edge against
such diseases and survive, furthering the species.
In both scenarios, one trait gives some individuals an edge over other individuals; this diversity
creates resiliency for the entire group. Diversity
allows for flexibility in responding to new stresses
or changes in the environment. Remember that
this diversity is brought about through genetic
exchange—which, in plants, occurs when pollen
from one flower travels to another flower.
Now that we’ve covered the why of flowers,
let’s take a look at the how of reproduction and
genetic exchange.
Pollination = The transfer of pollen from one
flower’s stamens to another flower’s stigma. This
is simply pollen exchange, there’s no swapping of
chromosomal goods yet! Plants tend to favor pollination that involves pollen exchange from one
plant to another—this increases genetic exchange
between individuals and builds the gene pool.
Stigmas are actually selectively receptive to pollen;
they don’t just open the hatches for any old pollen
grain that comes along. Although it’s less common,
pollination can also involve two different flowers
from the same plant or even pollen from the same
flower (we all know where this kind of shameful
activity leads—self-pollination is an abomination
that leads to blindness and the inability to photosynthesize!). Seriously, though, self-pollination is
often a solid Plan B for plants if cross-pollination
doesn’t occur. Pollination can be brought about
by pollinators—butterflies, bees, flower flies, bats,
and other species—or by the wind.
Fertilization = Genetic exchange between
plants that takes place in the ovary—this is
where chromosomal exchange occurs. When a
pollen grain lands on a receptive stigma and is
“accepted,” the grain begins to elongate into
a tube. This pollen tube grows down into the
style until it reaches the ovules in the flower’s ovary, allowing for union of the happy
gametes (sex cells), which meet for the first
time in sublime rapture (can’t help a little
anthropomorphizing here).
Both pollination and fertilization are necessary
for proper fruit and seed development. Sometimes you’ll find a fruit that has only half its
seeds or that hasn’t quite formed right—usually
incomplete fertilization is involved (perhaps
some of the ovules were fertilized, or pollination
occurred, but something went awry during the
fertilization process).
Here’s a quick and dramatic video outlining the
difference between pollination and fertilization.
HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM: MINI-COURSE
Pea family herbs (Fabaceae)
Even More Floral Terms
Inflorescence = The flowering part of a plant,
including any accessory floral organs. An inflorescence can consist of a single flower or a cluster
of flowers. For example, picture a wild carrot
(Daucus carota) flower cluster at the top of a
leafy stalk. The entire flowering part (large white
umbrella-like structure) is called the inflorescence. Now imagine a tulip (Tulipa spp.)—the
single flower is also called the inflorescence. It is
beyond the scope of this course to cover all the
types of inflorescences out there, so check out the
links at the end of the lesson if you want to dive
in deeper.
Chickweed
(Stellaria media)
Regular flower = Radially
symmetrical flower. All the
petals or sepals are similar in
size and appearance. Lilies
(Lilium spp.), blackberry
(Rubus spp.) and raspberry
flowers (Rubus spp.) are
examples of regular flowers.
Irregular flower = Bilaterally symmetrical flower. If
you fold an irregular flower
vertically, the right and left
sides will be mirror images;
but if you fold an irregular
Japanese honeysuckle
flower horizontally, the top
(Lonicera japonica)
and bottom halves of the
flower will be different. Orchids (Orchidaceae),
pansies (Viola spp.), peas (Pisum sativum) and
snapdragons (Antirrhinum spp.) are examples of
irregular flowers.
Perfect flower = A flower that has both male and
female reproductive parts. Also called bisexual.
Imperfect flower = A flower that has either male
or female reproductive parts, but not both. Also
called unisexual. A female flower (also called a
pistillate flower or a carpellate flower) possesses
a functioning pistil, or multiple pistils, and no
functioning stamens. A male flower (also called
a staminate flower) possesses only functioning
stamens with no pistils.
HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM: MINI-COURSE
Willow (Salix sp.) pistillate inflorescence (left) and staminate inflorescence (right). Photo credit 7Song
Two Arrangements of Imperfect Flowers:
Monoecious and Dioecious
Imperfect flowers can be monoecious or dioecious. Both monoecious and dioecious plants
have separate male and female flowers, the difference is where they “house” them. Monoecious
plants have the separate male and female flowers
on the same plant; dioecious plants have their
sexed flowers on different plants, male flowers
on one plant and female flowers on another. If
you’ve ever noticed that some hollies never make
berries—it’s because they’re male plants.
The gender lines of plants aren’t always
distinct; many dioecious plants switch sexes
when stressed, or even seemingly on a whim.
For example, a male papaya will “go female”
and set fruit when things get tough, presumably as a last-ditch effort to reproduce. I once
met a papaya grower who capitalized on this
adaptation by driving stakes into male papayas
to get them to switch sexes so he could get more
papaya fruits. (You want a certain number of
male papayas around to pollinate the females,
but you don’t need a gaggle of males loafing
around, because they don’t make fruits.)
“May our heart's garden of awakening
bloom with hundreds of flowers.”
—Thích Nhat Hanh
HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM: MINI-COURSE
Salix - comparison of flowers. Photo credit 7Song
Examples of monoecious plants (male and female
flowers on the same plant):
• Corn (Zea mays, Poaceae)
• Squash (Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbitaceae)
• Birch (Betula spp., Betulaceae)
• Hazelnut (Corylus spp., Betulaceae)
• Oak (Quercus spp., Fagaceae)
Examples of dioecious plants (individual
male and female plants):
• Holly (Ilex spp., Aquifoliaceae)
Angiosperm = A plant that produces flowers and
bears seeds in a fruit. Technically, an angiosperm
(angio = vessel; sperm = seed) is a plant whose seed
is encased in a fruit. Flowering plants are currently
the dominant form of true plants on the planet;
the majority of the 310,000 to 330,000 species of
plants in the Plantae kingdom, or “beingdom,”
are angiosperms.
Gymnosperm = A seed-bearing plant that
doesn’t produce its seeds in enclosed fruits
(gymnos =naked; sperm = seed). The major
subgroups of gymnosperms include cycads
(sago palms), ginkgo, conifers and gnetophytes.
The conifers (cone-bearing plants) are likely
the most familiar group of gymnosperms—
members include pine (Pinus spp.), spruce
(Picea spp.) and fir (Abies spp.). Note that there
are far fewer gymnosperms (close to 1,000
species total, worldwide) than there are more
diverse and ubiquitous angiosperms.
• Bayberry (Myrica spp., Myricaceae)
• Willow (Salix spp., Salicaceae)
• Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgoaceae)
• Cannabis (Cannabis spp., Cannabaceae)
• Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica, Urticaceae)
Fruit = A ripened ovary, enclosing a seed or
seeds. Botanically speaking, a fruit is the reproductive organ that bears seeds. It may be hard
and woody, or soft and fleshy. Note that the term
fruit is used differently in botany than it is in
the produce stand. For example, we might call
a cucumber or a tomato a vegetable, but from
a botanical perspective, they are fruits, because
they are the reproductive organs bearing seeds.
It is beyond the scope of this course to examine
the many types of fruits, so we have provided you
with several resources at the end of this lesson if
you want to get down and fruity.
Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM: MINI-COURSE
Conclusion and Hands-on Exercises
I hope you enjoyed our floral tour and are excited
to start ogling floral parts on your own! If you’re
feeling overwhelmed, be sure to revisit the material by watching the video again and rereading
the lesson. With each round, the terms and information will sink in a little deeper. And make sure
to practice your silly hand gestures, which will
imprint the terms in your memory.
If you’re a visual learner, try drawing and labeling
different flowers with their respective floral parts.
Don’t worry how it looks—it’s just for you to
learn! Personally, I love flash cards for memorizing new words. I also write down new words
ten times, saying them out loud all the while.
If you have kids, or interested friends or family
members, try learning the material and then
teaching it to them. Teaching is one the fastest
ways you can learn!
I highly recommend purchasing a hand lens,
also called a jeweler’s loupe—preferably 10×
to 20× (10 to 20 times magnification). These
nifty little tools have a much higher magnification ability than plain magnifying lenses
(the kind used for enlarging print). Many have
an LED attached, which I highly recommend,
because the increased lighting makes it much
easier to spy on flowers. And if you haven’t yet
come to terms with your mortality, try looking
at your own hand with the lens!
I recommend finding the biggest flower in
season, preferably from a plant you know (try
hitting up a florist for fading floral beauties if
it’s not the growing season). Look at the floral
diagrams included in the lesson and try to find
all those floral parts. Check your handiwork
online by googling images with the name of
your flower + labeled floral diagram. Try this
exercise with a few flowers, and you’ll begin to
see patterns emerge and get ever better at identifying reproductive parts.
Hummingbird moth (Hemaris thysbe) nectaring on wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
HANDCRAFTED HERBALISM: MINI-COURSE
Thanks to Our Contributors
Floral diagrams and botany ballad by Annie
SewDev (Chestnut School graduate and former
apprentice) Annie’s website: http://takerootherbarium.com
Labeled botanical photographs by 7Song of the
Northeast School of Botanical Medicine (my first
herb teacher and dear friend): 7Song’s website
Further Learning
Botany Everyday with Marc Williams is an
amazing portal into digital learning about plant
families and botany. Marc freely shares a ton
of resources on this website and also offers an
online program called Botany Every Day (offered
through donation). The program closely follows
the book by Thomas Elpel, which goes by the
same title.
Here’s a good overview of scientific names, including
their history, synonyms and common names for
some plant families.
Illustrated poster of different types of fruit
Slideshow of different types of fruits
Detailed video on fruit development and types
of fruits
Botanical fact sheet from Cornell University,
which includes leaf types and the major types
of inflorescences
Video with more floral terms and a solid introduction to different types of inflorescences
Botany in a Day video: The Patterns Method of
Plant Identification with Thomas J. Elpel
Our Herbal Immersion Program has lots of botany
and plant identification videos.
Bibliography and Recommended
Reading
Beentje, H. The Kew Plant Glossary: An Illustrated Dictionary of Plant Terms (London: Royal
Botanic Gardens, 2015).
Castner, James L. Photographic Atlas of Botany
and Guide to Plant Identification (Gainesville, FL:
Feline Press, 2004).
Elpel, T. J. Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method
of Plant Identification (Pony, MT: HOPS Press,
2004).
Harris, J. G., and M. W. Harris. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary (Payson,
UT: Spring Lake Publishing, 2001).
Heywood, V. H. Flowering Plants of the World
(Oxford University Press, 1993).
All photos and text © Juliet Blankespoor 2016 (unless otherwise noted)
Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine
www.ChestnutHerbs.com