Elisabet O. Orville
Objectives:
To understand that the flower contains the sexual organs of the plant and to learn the parts.
Materials:
Drawing of a trumpet vine flower-colored pencils
(figure available in print form)
Procedure:
Label floral parts, then color. Write down function of each (with teacher’s help)
Answers:
1. petals fused into a corolla, 2. pistil (2a. stigma, 2b.style, 2c. ovary with seeds) 3. nectar guides , 4. stamen (4a. anther, 4b. filament), 5. sepals, 6. nectary
Lesson 2: Wind and Insect Pollinated Flowers
Objectives:
Now that students have learned the main parts of a flower they should be able to contrast an insect-pollinated and a windpollinated flower
Materials:
handlenses(3x-6x), microscopes, slides, cover slips,
Insect-pollinated flower: daffodil, gladiolus, rhododendron, forsythia,snapdragon Wind-pollinated flower: oak, walnut, birch, poplar, plantain, grasses
Information for Students:
As you saw in the last lab, flowers contain both male and female sex organs. However, a plant normally can’t fertilize itself and the male pollen must get from the stamen of one plant to the stigma of another. Since plants are anchored in the ground by their roots they obviously can’t move around. Therefore they either depend on insects or wind to carry the pollen.
Insects visit flowers that have large attractive petals, an enticing odor, nectar (sugar water) and nutritious pollen. As they move from flower to flower the tiny pollen grains stick on them and then rub off on the next stigma.
Other flowers are not attractive and are not visited by insects. Their pollen is carried from flower to flower by wind. These flowers have no nectar, petals or scent.
Procedure:
Fill in the chart below using the two flowers your teacher will give you.
1. odor
2. sepals; number and color
3. petals; number color and nectar guides
4. stamens number
5. pollen grains; (draw at 50x)
6. stigma; sticky or feathery
7. ovary; number of ovules