Flower Dissection

Learning Target

• Understand how specialized flower structures contribute to the reproduction of plants.

Success Criteria

• I have learned and diagrammed the basic parts of a flower necessary for successful reproduction.
• I have identified the parts of a real flower with attention to the reproductive parts.

Flower Dissection Lab

Watch this Video First to Observe a Flower Dissection

• Use your notes from Flower Anatomy to identify and examine each part of your flower.
• Make a sketch of your flower in your notebook. Include labels to identify the structures indicated in bold.
  • (Note: Your flower may or may not have all of the structures listed.)
• Record how many of each part you find in your flower in the table below.

A closer look at the reproductive structures

1. Use a magnifying lens to observe the pollen grains more carefully. Describe/sketch what you notice.
2. Tap pollen grains onto a slide and observe under a microscope. Describe/sketch what you see.
3. Put your finger on the stigma, the uppermost part of the female reproductive system. What do you notice? How would the structure of the stigma help trap and capture pollen?
4. Remove the entire pistil from your flower. Make a cross-section of the ovary. How many ovaries does your flower contain? Try to locate the eggs inside the flower’s ovaries. Describe what you see.