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Parts of a Flower & Pollination

The reproductive parts of a flower, and how pollen gets from one to another.

9 parts
Scroll to begin ↓
Turn this on and each part is read out as you reach it.
The parts of a flowerstigma — catches pollenanther — makes pollenpetal — attracts insectsovary — becomes the fruit
The main parts of a flower and what each one does.
🧩 The partsThe male partsPart 2 of 9
🔍 In detailThe female partsPart 3 of 9
✏️ Worked examplePollinationPart 4 of 9
🌍 In the real worldAttracting pollinatorsPart 5 of 9
🔍 In detailAfter pollinationPart 6 of 9
⚠️ Common mistakesWatch outPart 7 of 9
✅ SummaryWhat to rememberPart 8 of 9
A bee covered in pollen on a flower, carrying grains from one bloom to the next. Photo: Matteo.Valerio, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A bee covered in pollen on a flower, carrying grains from one bloom to the next. Photo: Matteo.Valerio, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
1📘 DefinitionPart 1 / 9

A flower is for reproduction

A flower looks decorative, but its real job is reproduction, making seeds so new plants can grow.

Not all plants produce flowers. Ferns and mosses reproduce in other ways.

Check yourself: What is a flower's real job?
2🧩 The partsPart 2 / 9

The male parts

The stamen is the male part. It has two pieces:

The anther makes pollen, and the filament is the stalk that holds it up.

Check yourself: Which part makes pollen?
3🔍 In detailPart 3 / 9

The female parts

The carpel is the female part, with three pieces:

The stigma is sticky and catches pollen. The style is the stalk below it. The ovary at the base holds the ovules, which become seeds.

Check yourself: Which part catches pollen?
4✏️ Worked examplePart 4 / 9

Pollination

Pollination is pollen moving from an anther to a stigma.

Most often it is carried by insects, or blown by the wind.

Check yourself: Pollen moving from anther to stigma is called…
5🌍 In the real worldPart 5 / 9

Attracting pollinators

Insect-pollinated flowers are brightly coloured, scented, and offer sweet nectar.

Wind-pollinated flowers need none of that. They are usually small, dull and green, with feathery stigmas and loads of light pollen.

Check yourself: A brightly coloured, scented flower is probably pollinated by…
6🔍 In detailPart 6 / 9

After pollination

Once pollen reaches the stigma, the ovules are fertilised and become seeds.

The ovary swells and becomes the fruit around them.

Check yourself: What does the ovary become?
7⚠️ Common mistakesPart 7 / 9

Watch out

  • Pollination is not the same as fertilisation. Pollination is the journey; fertilisation is what happens after it arrives.
  • Pollen is not a seed. Seeds form afterwards, inside the ovary.
  • Bees are not the only pollinators. Butterflies, beetles, birds and bats all do it too.
8✅ SummaryPart 8 / 9

What to remember

  • Stamen = anther + filament (male, makes pollen).
  • Carpel = stigma + style + ovary (female).
  • Pollination: pollen anther → stigma, by insect or wind.
  • Ovules → seeds; ovary → fruit.
9✏️ Worked examplePart 9 / 9

Watch one worked through

Here is one done slowly, with the reason for every move. Then one for you.

Let me show you

A bee lands on a flower to feed, then flies to another flower of the same kind. Trace what happens to the pollen and name each part involved.

  1. anther → pollen on bee
    The bee brushes against the anther, the part that makes pollen, and grains stick to its body.
    The anther sits on top of the stalk-like filament, where a visiting insect cannot avoid it. The flower is shaped to make the contact happen.
  2. bee → stigma (sticky)
    At the next flower the bee touches the stigma, the sticky tip of the female part.
    The stigma is sticky so pollen stays put. Naming it as sticky in an answer shows you know why it works, not just where it is.
  3. anther (flower 1) → stigma (flower 2) = cross-pollination
    Pollen moving from the anther of one flower to the stigma of another is cross-pollination.
    Pollination is the transfer only. It is not the same as fertilisation, which happens later and lower down. Mixing the two words is the commonest error here.
  4. stigma → style → ovary → seed
    A tube then grows down the style to the ovary, where fertilisation happens and a seed forms.
    Keeping the order straight, pollination then fertilisation then seed, lets you answer any question about where in the sequence something sits.

Answer: Pollen moves from the anther to the stigma of another flower. That is cross-pollination, and fertilisation in the ovary comes afterwards.

Now you try

What is the sticky part that catches pollen called? One word.

Show the answer

stigma

Practise Parts of a Flower & Pollination

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