Introduction to Flowering Plants
Flowering Plant, any plant that produces flowers. Flowers contain the reproductive organs of the plant. The most familiar flowers are showy, such as those of roses and tulips. However, many flowering plants, such as grasses, have inconspicuous flowers. Flowering plants include garden flowers; wildflowers; flowering shrubs and trees; and grasses and sedges. The botanical term for a flowering plant is angiosperm. In common usage, many flowering plants, especially garden flowers and wildflowers, are referred to simply as flowers.
From earliest history, flowers have been valued for their beauty of form and color, and for their fragrance. In primitive art, flowers inspired designs used in pottery, baskets, and jewelry. The people of ancient civilizations learned to cultivate flowers. They surrounded their homes and public buildings with gardens filled with flowers.
Flowers have been used for indoor decorations since ancient times. Centuries ago the Chinese and Japanese developed flower arranging to a fine art in which religious and philosophical concepts played a part.
It was in Asia, too, that painting, sculpture, and poetry found an early inspiration in flowers. By the 10th century in China and the 14th century in Japan, foremost artists devoted their skills to portraying such flowers as the lotus, chrysanthemum, and plum blossom. Bowls and vases made of porcelain, or carved in jade, were given flower forms.
Flower painting reached a high point in the Netherlands in the 17th century, and in France in the 19th century.
In many languages flowers have been the subjects of song and story. The wildflowers of England were immortalized by Shakespeare, Shelley, Keats, and Wordsworth. Flowers have been used for centuries as symbols in religion, romance, and politics, and as heraldic devices. The lotus of Egypt had religious and national importance. In Christian symbolism the rose (for martyrdom) and the lily (purity) figured in art and literature. Most nations have a national flower, and all the states of the United States have adopted an official flower.
Uses of Flowering Plants
Flowering plants are valued for their beauty and many have great practical value as well. Flowering plants produce all vegetables, fruits, and grains. Some flowering plants have medicinal properties, or are used for flavoring and garnishing food; these are popularly called herbs. (Herb also has another, more general meaning, which is explained below, under the subtitle Garden Flowers.) Herb gardens were the “medicine cabinets” of ancient and medieval homes. “Herbals” describing the various plants and their uses were among the first books printed by movable type. Herbs remain the source of many drugs, including digitalis, curare, and morphine.
The petals of the rose, nasturtium, violet, and a few other flowers have often served as food delicacies. Honey is made by bees from the nectar of blooms.
Flowers have been valued for their fragrance from the days when housewives gathered blossoms to strew on floors and in linen chests. The perfume industry still relies to a major extent upon oils and essences derived from fresh flowers.
Garden Flowers
Garden flowers have all been developed from wild plants. Often, however, cultivation has changed them until they bear little resemblance to their ancestors. Although many kinds of flowering plants are grown in gardens, the term “garden flower” usually refers to the herbaceous flowering plants. (A notable exception is the rose, which is a shrub.) Herbaceous plants, or herbs, do not have a long-lasting woody stem as do shrubs and trees, but die down to the ground in winter.
Herbaceous plants are often classified as annuals, biennials, and perennials.
Annualslive only one year. They are grown from seed, usually in the spring, and die in the fall. Annuals include sweet peas, zinnias, petunias, marigolds, nasturtiums, and corn poppies.
Biennialsare also grown from seed, but take two years to complete their life cycle. They produce roots and leaves the first year, flowers and seeds the second year. Pansies, tiger lilies, and valerians are examples of biennials.
Perennialsare plants that live for more than two years and are renewed each spring from hardy roots or from underground stems (rhizomes). The iris, peony, phlox, chrysanthemum, and carnation are examples of perennials. Plants grown from bulbs and corms (bulblike stems) live for more than two years, but are not usually classed with other perennials. They include the narcissus, tulip, crocus, and hyacinth.
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Wildflowers
Wildflowers grow in many kinds of soil in places ranging from cold lands to tropical areas, and from swamps to deserts. Many wildflowers are appreciated for their beauty, but some, such as the dandelion, are considered weeds. Wildflowers can be annuals, biennials, and perennials. There are more than 100 families and 15,000 species of wildflowers (including grasses, sedges, and rushes) in North America alone.
Wildflowers are generally divided into these eight classes:
Woodland Flowersgrow best in rich, moist soil in shady, wooded areas. Examples: Violet, Indian pipe, fringed polygala, and Virginia bluebell.
Prairie Flowersthrive in the sunny plains area of North America, usually in moderately dry soil. Examples: Indian paintbrush, snow-on-the-mountain, fringed gentian, blazing star, and sunflower.
Desert Flowers,such as those in the southwestern United States, must withstand long periods of extreme heat and little moisture. Many desert flowers have thick, fleshy, spine-covered stems that ward off animals and serve as water reservoirs. Examples: yucca, prickly pear, and sagebrush.
Mountain Flowersare among the showiest and most colorful wildflowers. Many have tough, hairy stems, or tough, hard leaves and stems that protect them against deep snows. Examples: bitteroot, harebell, monkey flower, and edelweiss.
Water Flowersthrive in sunny areas wherever there is a plentiful supply of moisture—in or near streams, ponds, lakes, bogs, or wet meadows. Some have hollow, waxy-coated stems that help make the flower more buoyant. Examples: water lily, marsh marigold, skunk cabbage, and bladderwort.
Roadside and Meadow Flowersgrow well in dry soil in sunny areas. These flowers often line back roads or spread over large areas in meadows. Examples: goldenrod, wild carrot, nightshade, buttercup, aster, and foxglove.
Seashore Flowers,less colorful than other groups of wildflowers, are able to thrive in salty, seaside soil. Like other moisture-seeking flowers, they have stems that are protected by waxy coatings. Examples: beach pea, marsh pink, sea lavender, beach plum, and saltwort.
Tropical Flowersare the largest and most colorful of all wildflowers. They grow in hot, humid areas, such as Central and South America, southern Asia, and Africa. Examples: wandering Jew, giant krubi, bullhorn acacia, pelican flower, handflower, and numerous species of orchids.
Flowering Shrubs and Trees
Flowering shrubs and trees are woody perennial plants. The flowers of many shrubs and trees are very small, as in alders and oaks. Other shrubs and trees, such as redbuds and magnolias, have showy blossoms. Many flowering shrubs and trees are used in gardening and landscaping. Flowering shrubs and trees are sometimes classified as evergreen, semi-evergreen, or deciduous.
Evergreensretain their leaves for more than one year, even in areas with cold winters. Examples include English holly, common heath, and mountain laurel.
Semi-evergreensretain at least some of their leaves well into the winter. In warm climates, many semi-evergreens retain their leaves year-round. Examples include jasmine, scrub oak, and plumbago.
Deciduous Trees and Shrubs,the most common type. shed their leaves in autumn, at the end of the growing season. Examples include lilacs, currants. plum trees, apple trees, maples, and elms.
Grasses and Sedges
Grasses include many agricultural crops, such as corn, wheat, oats, rice, and sugarcane; lawn grasses, such as Kentucky blue-grass; and prairie grasses, such as big blue-stem. Grasses typically have small flowers clustered in spikelets.
Sedges, such as bulrushes and papyrus, are related to grasses. They usually grow in wet places and typically have small flowers arranged spirally on a stalk.