petals

     

A petal (from Ancient Greek petalon "leaf", "thin plate"), regared as a highly modified leaf, is one member or part of the corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance (color, shape) as the outermost whorl (the calyx) and is used to attract pollinators based on its bright color. It is the inner part of the perianth that comprises the sterile parts of a flower and consists of inner and outer tepals. These tepals are usually differentiated into petals and sepals. The term "tepal" is usually applied when the petals and sepals are similar in shape and color. In a "typical" flower the petals are showy and colored and surround the reproductive parts. The number of petals in a flower (see merosity) is indicative of the plant's classification: eudicots (the largest group of dicots) having typically four or five petals and monocots and magnoliids having three, or some multiple of three, petals.

Trivia about petals

  • Parts of the flower that are plucked off to the chant, "He loves me, he loves me not"
  • Tulips are said to have tepals because these colorful flower parts look just like the sepals
  • Rose varieties with 30 to 40 of these should be cut & used when 1 or 2 of them have come loose
  • From the Greek for "leaf", they're the individual parts of a flower's corolla
  • They are the individual parts of a flower's corolla

Found pages about petals