• The parts of a flower bud are essential for growth and reproduction.flower bud image by wang dongmei from Fotolia.com
  
  Flower buds start out small and blossom over time into bright, colorful flowers. Most people notice the stem and flower petals on a plant, but the inside of a flower bud contains a number of important reproductive parts without which the flower would be unable to reproduce. Each part plays a vital role in the pollination and continuing life cycle of the flower.
  
  

Sepals, Petals, Receptacle and Nectaries

• When a flower bud first forms, the petals and inner parts of the flower are protected by a special set of leaves known as the sepals. As the flower grows and eventually blooms, the sepals are pushed down but are still visible underneath the flower petals. The petals themselves often feature bright colors or patterns to attract insects, which pollinate the flower. At the base of the bud is the receptacle. This part is responsible for connecting all the parts of the flower bud to its stem. Inside the bud are the male and female parts of the flower, and deep within the bud are the nectaries. The nectaries make the sweet nectar that insects collect for food. The nectaries' location inside the bud forces the insects to crawl deep into the flower, where they pick up the most pollen.
  
  

Female Parts

• The female parts of the flower bud carry a seed that is later fertilized through pollination and grows into a fruit filled with more seeds. A flower contains both male and female parts, and pollination can occur from the pollen of another flower, known as cross-pollination, or from the same flower, known as self-pollination. The carpal contains all the female parts of the flower once it reaches maturity. Inside the carpal, located in the center of the flower, a long neck known as a style connects the stigma and the ovary of the flower. The stigma, located on top, collects pollen and passes it through the style to the ovary at the bottom, where the seed waits.
  
  

Male Parts

• The male parts consist of the stamen, which is made up of two parts known as the anther and the filament. These thin, tall parts contain pollen and often are seen sticking beyond the flower petals from the center. Insects pick up pollen from the top of the stamen, which is the anther, and carry it to other flowers, where the pollen collects on the stigma, one of the female parts. The thin neck holding up the anther is the filament.