Gynoecium in the context of "Stamen"

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⭐ Core Definition: Gynoecium

Gynoecium (/ɡˈnsi.əm, ɪˈnʃi.əm/; from Ancient Greek γυνή (gunḗ) 'woman, female' and οἶκος (oîkos) 'house', pl. gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) pistils and is typically surrounded by the pollen-producing reproductive organs, the stamens, collectively called the androecium. The gynoecium is often referred to as the "female" portion of the flower, although rather than directly producing female gametes (i.e. egg cells), the gynoecium produces megaspores, each of which develops into a female gametophyte which then produces egg cells.

The term gynoecium is also used by botanists to refer to a cluster of archegonia and any associated modified leaves or stems present on a gametophyte shoot in mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. The corresponding terms for the male parts of those plants are clusters of antheridia within the androecium. Flowers that bear a gynoecium but no stamens are called pistillate or carpellate. Flowers lacking a gynoecium are called staminate.

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Gynoecium in the context of Ovary (plants)

In flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule(s) and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the base of the petals and sepals. The pistil may be made up of one carpel or of several fused carpels (e.g. dicarpel or tricarpel), and therefore the ovary can contain part of one carpel or parts of several fused carpels. Above the ovary is the style and the stigma, which is where the pollen lands and germinates to grow down through the style to the ovary, and, for each individual pollen grain, to fertilize one individual ovule. Some wind-pollinated flowers have much reduced and modified ovaries.

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Gynoecium in the context of Flower

Flowers, also known as blossoms and blooms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants. Typically, they are structured in four circular levels around the end of a stalk. These include: sepals, which are modified leaves that support the flower; petals, often designed to attract pollinators; male stamens, where pollen is presented; and female gynoecia, where pollen is received and its movement is facilitated to the egg. When flowers are arranged in a group, they are known collectively as an inflorescence.

The development of flowers is a complex and important part in the life cycles of flowering plants. In most plants, flowers are able to produce sex cells of both sexes. Pollen, which can produce the male sex cells, is transported between the male and female parts of flowers in pollination. Pollination can occur between different plants, as in cross-pollination, or between flowers on the same plant or even the same flower, as in self-pollination. Pollen movement may be caused by animals, such as birds and insects, or non-living things like wind and water. The colour and structure of flowers assist in the pollination process.

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Gynoecium in the context of Berry (botany)

In botany, a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single flower containing one ovary. Berries so defined include grapes, currants, and tomatoes, as well as cucumbers, eggplants (aubergines), persimmons and bananas, but exclude certain fruits that meet the culinary definition of berries, such as strawberries and raspberries. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire outer layer of the ovary wall ripens into a potentially edible "pericarp". Berries may be formed from one or more carpels from the same flower (i.e. from a simple or a compound ovary). The seeds are usually embedded in the fleshy interior of the ovary, but there are some non-fleshy exceptions, such as Capsicum species, with air rather than pulp around their seeds.

Many berries are edible, but others, such as the fruits of the potato and the deadly nightshade, are poisonous to humans.

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Gynoecium in the context of Moraceae

Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their distribution is cosmopolitan overall. The only common characteristics within the family are the presence of latex-producing glands in the leaves and stems, and milky sap in the soft tissues; but generally useful field characters include two carpels sometimes with one reduced, compound inconspicuous flowers, and compound fruits. The family includes well-known plants such as the common fig, breadfruit, jackfruit and mulberry. The 'flowers' of Moraceae are often pseudanthia (reduced inflorescences).

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Gynoecium in the context of Style (botany)

In botany, the style of an angiosperm flower is an organ of variable length that connects the ovary to the stigma. The style does not contain ovules; these are limited to the region of the gynoecium (female organs of the flower) called the "ovary".

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Gynoecium in the context of Stigma (botany)

The stigma (pl.: stigmas or stigmata) is the receptive tip of a carpel, or of several fused carpels, in the gynoecium of a flower.

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