What Are the Parts of a Nectar Producing Plant?

Stem

• The stem of the plant is what holds it upright. It is attached to the roots in the soil and the flowers form at its extremities.

Petals

• The petals form the cup or bell of the flower. They are usually brightly colored to attract insects.

Anthers

• The anthers are the male reproductive organs of the plant. They are usually located on the end of long filaments around the pistils. They produce pollen, the plant equivalent of sperm.

Pistils

• The pistil is the female reproductive organ of the plant. It is located in the center of the petals, attached to the stem. It consists of an ovary at the base attached by a tube -- or style -- to a stigma at the top. The stigma is the opening that receives the pollen during fertilization.

Nectaries

• The nectaries are tiny glandular organs that produce the nectar by extracting sugars and other substances from the plant sap in the stem and passing them to the outside of the plant. They are typically found at the base of a flower so that the pollinating insects must rub against the anthers and pistils to reach the nectar.

Fertilization

• For the plant to reproduce, pollen must fertilize an ovary to produce a seed. This process is called pollination and in nectar-producing plants is facilitated by animals such as bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. They fly from flower to flower drinking the nectar. As they visit the flowers, they rub against the anthers and the pollen sticks to their bodies. In turn they rub against other flowers' pistils and transfer pollen into them. Some plants have both male and female reproductive organs in each flower, while other species have them in separate blooms.