Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

Flowers and herbs

213

Pollination

to produce a seed, the male cell in a pollen

grain must fertilize a female cell in the ovule.

For this to happen the pollen must travel from

its anther to the female stigma. in some

flowers, the pollen is small and light,

with wings, and is blown from

one flower to another

by the wind.

Kangaroo

paw

Bees and

Flowers

Bees help

pollination. as

a bee feeds on nectar

and pollen, more pollen inside

the flower sticks to the bee’s legs

and body and is carried by the

bee to the next flower, where

it pollinates the female parts.

nectar

Butterflies, moths, bats, and birds feed

on the sweet, energy-rich nectar inside

each flower. Bees convert nectar into

honey in the beehive.

Dogtooth violet

Passionflower

Oxeye

daisy

Common poppy

Harebell

Snake’s

head

fritillary

Water

hyacinth

Cornflower

Horticulture

From the beginnings of

civilization, people have cultivated

flowers for their scent and color.

today’s garden roses have been bred

from wild ancestors so that they

have larger, more numerous,

and more colorful petals, sweeter

scents, and a longer flowering time.

the art of gardening is

called horticulture.

Common

toadflax

wild Flowers and conservation

Many wild flowers are in danger of extinction. Marshes are

drained, and forests are felled for farmland and buildings,

so the flowers that grow there are destroyed. rare and

beautiful blooms are at risk because they are dug up

illegally by plant collectors.

to save rare flowers, the

places where they grow must

be protected. as forests

are cut down, thousands of

flowers are disappearing

even before they are

known to science.

Cultivated

tea rose

Wild

dog rose

Bird-oF-Paradise Flower

the bird-of-paradise plant

comes originally from

riverbanks in southern

africa and is now grown in

many parks and gardens.

each plant has bright

orange flowers that form

a shape that looks like the

head and beak of a bird of

paradise. the bird-of-paradise

flowers rise one after the other

from a long, stiff, green-pink casing.

perfume

a flower’s

smell attracts

butterflies,

bees, and

people, too.

lily of the

valley and rose

are used in the

manufacture of

perfumes and soaps.

Lily of

the valley

flowers have a

sweet scent. Their

leaves are scented, too.

Bees and wasps

conservation

and endangered species

Fruits and seeds

Plants

Find out more

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