Examples of Pistillate Flowers

Botany

• On some plants, described as monoecious, both male and female flowers appear on the same plant. Pollinators or wind mix pollen from the anthers of the male onto the stigma of the female to form fruit and seed. These plants can be self-pollinated, where the pollen is transferred between flowers on the same plant, or cross-pollinated, where pollen is transferred from one plant to another. Cross-pollination blends different genetic material, so it often produces stronger, more successful plants. Other plants, known as dioecious, bear only female or only male flowers, so two of the same kind of plant, planted near each other, are needed for pollination.

Fruits and Vegetables

• Plants in the squash family (Cucurbitaceae) provide a clear example of a plant with both pistillate and staminate flowers. Bees move pollen from male flowers to female flowers to produce fruit, but they also move the pollen onto other squash plants nearby. If different kinds of squash cross-pollinate, the resulting seeds usually won’t come true, so saving seeds from squash can produce strange hybrids. Crosses occur between melons, gourds, pumpkins and squash, often resulting in bitter, inedible offspring. Other edible plants with pistillate flowers include asparagus (Asparagus spp.), which grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8, persimmon (Diospyros spp.), hardy in USDA zones 6 through 10, and corn (Zea mays), an annual.

Trees and Shrubs

• Trees often bear pistillate and staminate flowers on separate plants. If a tree won’t bear fruit, it may be a male or female tree that is not being pollinated by its opposite. This can be desirable when the tree is being grown ornamentally and fruit is not wanted. Holly (Ilex spp.) is one example of a dioecious tree that has pistillate flowers; female plants won’t produce the characteristic red berries unless a male plant is nearby. Holly grows in USDA zones 5 through 9. Other trees and shrubs that bear pistillate flowers are ash (Fraxinus spp.), hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9, smoke tree (Cotinus spp.), which grows in USDA zones 5 through 8, and many nut-producing trees.

Annuals and Perennials

• Annuals and perennials in the Euphorbia family (Euphorbiaceae) typically bear pistillate and staminate flowers on the same plant. They include annuals such as castor bean (Ricinus communis), poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima), which is perennial only in USDA zones 9 through 11, and chenille plant (Acalypha hispida), hardy in USDA zones 10 and 11.