| Abstract from DBPedia | A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs. Flowers may facilitate outcrossing (fusion of sperm and eggs from different individuals in a population) resulting from cross-pollination or allow selfing (fusion of sperm and egg from the same flower) when self-pollination occurs. There are two types of pollination: self-pollination and cross-pollination. Self-pollination occurs when the pollen from the anther is deposited on the stigma of the same flower, or another flower on the same plant. Cross-pollination is when pollen is transferred from the anther of one flower to the stigma of another flower on a different individual of the same species. Self-pollination happens in flowers where the stamen and carpel mature at the same time, and are positioned so that the pollen can land on the flower's stigma. This pollination does not require an investment from the plant to provide nectar and pollen as food for pollinators. Some flowers produce diaspores without fertilization (parthenocarpy). Flowers contain sporangia and are the site where gametophytes develop. Many flowers have evolved to be attractive to animals, so as to cause them to be vectors for the transfer of pollen. After fertilization, the ovary of the flower develops into fruit containing seeds. In addition to facilitating the reproduction of flowering plants, flowers have long been admired and used by humans to bring beauty to the environment, and also as objects of romance, ritual, esotericism, witchcraft, religion, holistic medicine, and as a source of food.花（はな、華とも書く。花卉-かき＝漢字制限のため、「花き」と書かれることが多い）とは植物が成長してつけるもので、多くは綺麗な花びらに飾られる。花が枯れると果実ができて、種子ができる。多くのものが観賞用に用いられる。生物学的には種子植物の生殖器官である。また、植物の代表的器官として、「植物（種）」そのものの代名詞的に使われることも多い。植物の花を生花（せいか）、紙や布・金属などで作られた花を造花（ぞうか）という。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Flower) |
