Structure & Function in Flowering Plants

This theme looks closely at the roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits of plants. The images show structures with the emphasis on how these different structures carry out their functions as part of the working of the whole plant.

Some images show external features, but perhaps in a way that you have not seen them before. Others show microscopic views of internal structures - some using a standard light microscope, others using more sophisticated techniques, such as phase contrast, confocal microscopy or electron microscopy.

In each of the first three sections (roots, stems, leaves), there are images of both external and internal features of a ‘typical’ root, stem, or leaf. You can then look more closely at how these typical features may vary and introduce some of the many ways in which plants are adapted to different functions or to different habitats. The possibilities are enormous, so you must treat the images here as a selection that introduces you to the great diversity found in flowering plants.

For the section describing flowers, the emphasis is on mechanisms of pollination and how flowers are adapted to enable successful pollination to occur. Most of these images provide detail for pollination by wind or by insects as these are of greatest importance for flowers in the UK. However, a few images make reference to pollination by birds, mammals and water, using examples from outside the UK.

For the section describing fruits and their seeds, the emphasis is on mechanisms of fruit and seed dispersal. Here the selected images represent the common dispersal mechanisms for species found in the UK though the principles established are also applicable to plants found in many other parts of the world. This section links closely with the Field Studies Council (FSC) fold out chart 'A guide to fruits and seed dispersal'.

Roots
Stems
Leaves
Flowers
Fruits