Florists in Jersey: the biology of the flowers

Flowers have been important to humans for thousands of years, and continue to play a part in our lives when we give gifts or mark life''s milestones though ceremony. We are all familiar with the appearance of many different types of flowers, but how much else do you know about your favourite blooms? Here is a brief introduction to some of the biological facts about flowering plants.

Flowering plants are also known as angiosperms. The flower is the structure that carries out reproductive functions. In comparison, the reproductive structures of other non-flowering plants are markedly different.

Flowering plants have four kinds of modified leaves, and two types of these modified leaves bear pollen and seeds. These are called stamens and carpels, with carpels sometimes also known as pistils. The carpel grows as an ovary around the ovule. The ovule is then completely enclosed, and within the ovule will become a seed.

''Angiosperms'' describes this reproductive system in flowering plants, and the word angiosperm comes from the Greek language: it means ''seed in a vessel''. Non-flowering plants are called ''gymnosperms'', and this translates as ''naked seed''.

In gymnosperms, the ovules are also carried on modified leaves, but this time the leaf stays open, and so the ovule is not enclosed. A pinecone is an example of ovules carried on open modified leaves.

Established fossil evidence suggest that flowering plants appeared on the planet some 140 million years ago; in evolutionary terms, this is fairly recently (although some new evidence places the appearance of angiosperms 80 million years earlier). To put this in context, blue green algae - the earliest known form of land based plant life ? made an appearance around 1.2 billion years ago.

Flowering plants are now the number one species of vegetation on Earth; the estimated number of species of angiosperms is 250,000. Gymnosperms have less than 1000 known species. 40,000 species of plant life are vascular plants (like ferns) or Bryophytes (like mosses).

The dominance of flowering plants amongst vegetation on Earth looks set to continue with the support of mankind, as cultures throughout the world continue to make use of flowers as gifts, in remembrance, and at other ceremonies such as weddings.

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Nita Hannibal is a retired biologist and keen amateur botanist who has lived in Jersey for over sixty years. Nita Hannibal recommends Interflora searching for florists in Jersey.

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