Anthers in blue: A hidden rhapsody in Amazonian Eriocaulaceae

Most plants are seed plants—characterized by seeds, pollen, and reduced gametophytes. Seed plants include gymnosperms and angiosperms.

Flowers are the reproductive, seed-producing structures of angiosperms. Typically, flowers consist of sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. Sepals and petals are the vegetative flower organs. Stamens and carpels are the reproductive organs.  

Plants have a life cycle split between two multicellular stages: a haploid stage—with cells containing one set of chromosomes—and a diploid stage—with cells containing two sets of chromosomes. The haploid stage is the gamete-producing gametophyte, and the diploid stage is the spore-producing sporophyte.

Seedless Vascular Plants Were the First Tall Plants on Earth

Plants often form mutualistic relationships with soil-dwelling fungi or bacteria to enhance their roots’ nutrient uptake ability. Root-colonizing fungi (e.g., mycorrhizae) increase a plant’s root surface area, which promotes nutrient absorption. While root-colonizing, nitrogen-fixing bacteria (e.g., rhizobia) convert atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into ammonia (NH3), making nitrogen available to plants for various biological functions. For example, nitrogen is essential for the...

Fruits form from a mature flower ovary. As seeds develop from the ovules contained within, the ovary wall undergoes a series of complex changes to form fruit. In some fruits, such as soybeans, the ovary wall dries; in other fruits, such as grapes, it remains fleshy. In some cases, organs other than the ovary contribute to fruit formation; such fruits are called accessory fruits.