Stamen and pistil

The idea

The stamen is the male part and produces pollen grains; the pistil is the female part, made of the ovary, style and stigma, and the ovary contains ovules, each with an egg cell.

Yellow powder

Touch the stamen of a flower and a yellowish powder may stick to your fingers.

What is this powder?

• Pollen grains
• Ovules
• Seeds

Label the parts

Open each tab.

Male part, female part

The stamen is the male part and makes pollen grains. The pistil is the female part, in the centre of the flower. Its swollen bottom is the ovary, the middle is the style and the top is the stigma. Inside the ovary are ovules, and each ovule has an egg cell.

The stamen is the male part and produces pollen grains. The pistil is the female part, made of the ovary, style and stigma. The ovary contains ovules, each with an egg cell.

Notes

The stamen (male) makes pollen grains. The pistil (female) has ovary, style and stigma; the ovary holds ovules, each with an egg cell.

Check yourself

Which part of a flower produces pollen grains?

Which of these is NOT a part of the pistil?

What does each ovule contain?

Which part of the pistil is the elongated middle part?

• The stamen — correct. Yes!
• The pistil. The pistil is the female part, made of the ovary, style and stigma.
• The ovary. The ovary contains ovules, each with an egg cell. The stamen produces pollen grains.
• Stigma. The terminal part of the pistil, which may be sticky, is the stigma.
• Stamen — correct. Yes!
• Ovary. The swollen bottom part of the pistil is the ovary.
• A pollen grain. Pollen grains are produced by the stamen.
• A stigma. The stigma is the terminal part of the pistil. Each ovule has an egg cell.
• An egg cell — correct. Yes!
• The style — correct. Yes!
• The ovary. The ovary is the swollen bottom part.
• The stigma. The stigma is the terminal part, which may be sticky.