Functions...?

Question

1. What is the function of the flower? the leaf? the stem? the root?

2. Describe how flowering plants reproduce sexually.

Answer 1

Hi Vavatinka,

For question #1...

In general a plant's flower functions as the plant's reproductive organ AND to attract a pollinator (insect, bird, bat, etc.) to pollenate it (join the male gamete found in the pollen with the female gamete found in the ovule of the ovary).  [Note: Some plants may depend upon other devices, such as wind, to join the pollen with the ovary.]

The leaf of a plant is where its energy (food) is produced.  The plant moves chemical elements (nutrients) and water from the soil through its roots and stem up to the leaves where they are used (along with sunlight and carbon dioxide) to produce sugar and oxygen.  The oxygen is discharged and the sugar is distributed throughout the plant to nourish its cell OR to be stored for later use.  The leaf has tiny openings, called stomata (singular stoma) that serve to allow for the exchange of gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) AND to release water vapor (which is necessary to create a pressure difference so the water and nutrients can flow up from the roots of the plant).  The leaf also helps to cool the plant by providing shade.

The stem of a plant serves as both a support structure for its flowers and leaves AND it contains a highway of cells where the nutrients and water are transported up from its roots to the leaves and where the food produced by the leaves is transported to the rest of the plant's cells for consumption or storage.

Generally, the root of a plant serves to anchor the plant AND it also acts to absorb water and needed chemicals (nutrients) from the soil to be transported up through the stem to the leaves of the plant.  Additionally, some roots have the developed the ability to act as a reservoir to store energy for use by the plant at a later time, while the roots of some other plants have developed the ability to "clone" new plants that will start up as the "parent" plant dies.

For question #2...

Flowering plants reproduce sexually with the male gamete (located in the pollen) being introduced into the flower's ovary to fertilize the female gamete (the ovule).  This is accomplished when the pollen falls on the stigma and then moves through the style into the ovary, where the ovule is fertilized.

I hope that this is of some help to you.

Hiking Tony