Flower Shapes

Complete versus incomplete flower

Complete flowers have all typical
parts (sepals, petals, stamens,
and pistil.

Powder puff tree (Callilandra)

Spiderwort (Tradescantia)
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Incomplete flowers are missing

a typical part like the petals.

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Flower Shapes
Perfect versus imperfect flowers
Perfect flowers are bisexual
with functioning male and female
parts in the same flower.

Hazelnut (Corylus) female flower

Ardisia (Ardisia)
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Imperfect flowers are unisexual

with only male or female parts in
a single flower.

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Flower Shapes
Dioecious versus monecious plants
Dioecious plants have imperfect
flowers and male and female flowers
reside on separate plants.

female flower

Holly (Ilex)

female flower

Monecious plants contain imperfect

flowers and the male and female
flowers are on the same plant but in
different locations.

male flowers

male flower

Chestnut (Castanea)

There are examples where monecious and dioecious plants can produce some perfect
flowers. When they appear on the same plant it is called polygamo-monecious. When it
occurs on plants with unisexual flowers on different plants it is polygamo-dioecious.
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Flower Shapes
Monecious plants
Begonia produces male and female flowers in different flowers in the cyme
and they open at different times to reduce self pollination.

male flowers

female flower

male flower
female flowers
Begonia (Begonia)

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Monecious plants
Pecan is a good example of a wind pollinated tree that produces male and
female flowers on different flowers on the same tree.
Female flower

female flower

male flower

Male flower
Pecan (Carya)
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Flower Shapes
Flowers without petals (apetalous)
It is generally accepted that showy or fragrant petals function to
interact with insect or mammal pollinators. Their job is to signal the
pollinator of a potential flower find and in the process facilitate pollen
transfer within or between flowers.
Flowers that are wind pollinated tend to have reduced or no petals and
therefore no obstructions between flying pollen and the stigma.

Date palm (Phoenix)

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Barley (Hordeum)
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Maple (Acer)

Oak (Quercus)

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Flower Shapes
Actinimorphic versus Zyomorphic flowers
Actinimorphic flowers have a radial
symmetry where the flower can be
divided equally on two or more planes.

Primrose (Primula)

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Zygomorphic flowers have bilateral

symmetry where the flower can be
divided equally on only one plane.

Pansy (Viola)

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Flower Shapes
Some characteristic flower shapes
Bell-

Campanulate shaped
Coroniform

Crownshaped

Cruciform

Crossshaped

Cucullate

Hooded

Cupuliform

Cupshaped

Double

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Funnelshaped

Inflated

bladdershaped

Salverform

Labiate

Lip-like
petals

Spurred

With a
spur

Stellate

Starshaped

Papillionoid

Butterflyshaped

Tubular

Tubeshaped

Reflexed

Petals bent
back

Urceolate

Urnshaped

Ligulate

With extra
petals

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Slipper
orchids

Funnelform

Strap-like

Saccate

Click on a term for information

Tube with
flat lobes

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Flower Shapes
Campanulate
Bell-shaped flowers formed by fused petals.

Asia bell (Condonopsis)

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Bell flower (Campanula)

Redveined enkianthus
(Enkianthus)
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Flower Shapes
Coroniform
Flowers with a corona (crown). A corona is a group of petal-like organs between
the petals and stamens.

Passion flower
(Passiflora)

Daffodil (Narcissus)
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Flower Shapes
Cruciform
Flowers are cross-shaped with four petals.

Mustard

(Brassica nigra)

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Wallflower
(Erysimum)

Phlox
(Phlox)

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Bluets

(Hedyotis)

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Culcullate
Flowers that are hooded by modified fused petals.

Monks hood (Aconitum)

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Cupuliform
A cylindrical tube-like flower that does not have spreading petal tips.

Tulip (Tulipa)
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Cup vine (Solandra)

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Double

Double flowers have additional floral organs compared to the usual sets of four,
five or six found in most plants. The extra organs are usually petals that have
replaced stamens. A semi-double flower has additional petals but stamens still
remain. A fully double flower has lost most or all stamens to petals.

A semi-double rose (Rosa).

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A fully double amaryllis (Hippeastrum).

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Funnelform
A funnel shaped flower that widens from the base to the top.

Wild petunia (Ruellia)

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Gentian (Gentiana)

Virginia blue bells

(Mertensia)
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Inflated
Floral parts are swollen to form a bladder-like flower.

Soapwort (Sapanaria)

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Bladdernut (Staphylea)

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Labiate
Flowers with lip-like petals. Those with distinctly two lips are called bilabiate.
Those like turtlehead are also galeate meaning helmet shaped. Those like blue
sage are ringent meaning gaping because of the distance between the two lips.

Blue sage (Salvia)

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Bugleflower (Ajuga)

Turtlehead (Chelone)
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Ligulate
Flowers with a strap-like petiole especially those in composite flowers.

Zinnia (Zinnia)
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Papillionoid
Butterfly shaped flowers typical of some legumes. Flowers have petals modified
into a large upper banner, two side wings, and two fused petals that form the lower
keel that encloses the stamens.

Yellowwood (Cladrastis)
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False indigo (Baptisia)

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Lupine (Lupinus)

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Flower Shapes
Reflexed
Some flowers have petals that bend backwards. Petals that are fully bent are
called reflexed, while those partially bent are called recurved.

Shooting star (Dodecatheron)

petals are reflexed.
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Lily (Lillium) petals are

recurved.
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Saccate
A flower with petals shaped like a sac as occurs in slipper orchids.

South American slipper orchid

(Phragmipedium)
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Slipper orchid
(Paphiopedilum)

Kentucky lady slipper

(Cypripedium kentuckiense)
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Salverform
Tubular flowers that become spreading at the top.

Primrose (Primula)

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Rhododendron (Rhododendron)

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Spurred
Spurred flowers have a petal(s) modified into a spur. The spur is usually nectar
containing to attract pollinators.

Delphinium (Delphinium)
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Spurred
Spurred flowers have a petal(s) modified into a spur. The spur is usually nectar
containing to attract pollinators.

Columbine (Aquilegia)
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Nasturtium (Tropaeolum)
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Jewelweed (Impatiens)

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Stellate
Stellate flowers are star-shaped often with five petals.

Jasmine (Jasminum)

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Fire pink (Silene)

Pink (Dianthus)

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Tubular
A cylindrical tube-like flower that does not have spreading petal tips.

Fuschia (Fuschia)

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Iochroma (Iochroma)

Pinkroot (Spigelia)

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Urceolate
These flowers are urn or pitcher-like in shape.

Grape hyacinth
(Muscari)
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Andromeda
(Pieris)
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