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Basic Botany - Flower Structure: Botanical Gardens & Glasshouses

The document provides information about flower structure activities that can be done at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. It describes using models and puppets to teach students the basic parts of flowers and their functions. Students can observe real flowers in the glasshouses and record their structures through labeling drawings, diagrams, and formulas. Another activity explores pollination mechanisms by looking at how different plants attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, moths, wasps, bats, birds, and flies. Students can roleplay pollination by reconstructing flowers with large parts and one student acting as a bee. Opportunities are also provided to observe how flowers change after pollination and become fruit. Worksheets guide students in close examination

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Aurora Çizmja
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© © All Rights Reserved
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66 views

Basic Botany - Flower Structure: Botanical Gardens & Glasshouses

The document provides information about flower structure activities that can be done at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. It describes using models and puppets to teach students the basic parts of flowers and their functions. Students can observe real flowers in the glasshouses and record their structures through labeling drawings, diagrams, and formulas. Another activity explores pollination mechanisms by looking at how different plants attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, moths, wasps, bats, birds, and flies. Students can roleplay pollination by reconstructing flowers with large parts and one student acting as a bee. Opportunities are also provided to observe how flowers change after pollination and become fruit. Worksheets guide students in close examination

Uploaded by

Aurora Çizmja
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Basic Botany -

Flower Structure

The Birmingham
Botanical Gardens
& Glasshouses
Brief Descriptions of Activities

Flower Structure
• a Study Centre-led activity

• Using large-scale models and bee (glove puppet) to take pupils through the basic flower parts and
their functions

Investigating Floral Structure


A wide range of flowers are always on display in the glasshouses.

Their structure can be recorded in a variety of ways:

• Directed observation through use of questionnaires


• Drawing half a flower and labelling its structure
• Creating a plan of the flower as if viewed from above
• Creating a simple floral formula (this worksheet is using a simplified form of the recording system
used by botanists)

See worksheets 1-4 at back of booklet.

Pollination Mechanisms
• An extension of this work is to look at a variety of ways in which plants are designed in order to
attract different pollinators

See ‘A Guide To Pollinators’ at back of booklet.

• Busy Bees. This is a game where pupils act out pollination

See worksheet 5 at back of booklet


Guide To Pollinators

“Bee Flowers” Typically yellow, blue or purple. They produce pollen and
lots of nectar, are often marked with lines and blotches
and are sweetly scented at certain times of the day.

“Butterfly Flowers” Vivid colours, often purple, red or white. Usually open
during the day with a long thin corolla tube, lots of nectar
and a strong scent.

“Moth Flowers” Often white, pink or pale yellow, open at night and have a
heavy scent.

“Wasp Flowers” Often pinkish or dirty red, with horizontal or drooping


cups into which the short tongued wasp can push its head.

“Bat Flowers” Pale or mauve with a strong musty scent. Bell shaped
flowers are strongly built and open at night.

“Bird Flowers” Red, orange or yellow with peculiar colour combinations.


Usually long tubed with lots of nectar and little scent.

“Fly Flowers” Often colourless or mottled with reds and purples. Relies
on smell of dead meat.
The Pollination Game
- a Study Centre-led activity

• Large-scale flower parts are available for children to reconstruct flowers. A role-play can then
ensue with one pupil taking the part of a bee, collecting and transferring pollen from the ‘flowers’.

Flower To Fruit
• Opportunities are always available for observation of the changes which occur after a flower has
been pollinated and becomes a fruit.

Links with Science National Curriculum


KS2 Sc 1 2e 2f 2h
Sc 2 1b 1c 3d

KS3 Sc 1 2f 2g 2i
Looking at Flowers

Choose from the flowers provided. Examine one carefully using


a hand lens if necessary and try to answer the following
questions:

Do the flower petals show symmetry?

Are the petals separate or formed into a tube?

How many petals are there?

Are sepals present? If so, how many are there and what colour
are they?

Are the stamens separate or attached to something else?

Are the filaments long or short?

How many lobes has the anther?

Can you see pollen grains?

Are there one or more ovaries?

What shape is the stigma?

How long is the style?


Worksheet 1b

Looking at Flowers
Worksheet 2

Recording Floral Structure

carpel

stamen

Half Flower

Choose 4 different flowers and imagine you have cut your flower in line with the main stem to give a
vertical section, and draw.
Worksheet 3

Recording Floral Structure

Floral Diagram
This shows a plan of the flower when looked at from above. Choose 4 different flowers then draw and
label them from this angle.

-
~
Worksheet 4

Floral Formula
By counting the number of sepals (S), petals (P), stamens (A) and carpels (C), you can make up a floral
formula to compare flowers e.g. S3 P6 A12 Cl.

Drawing Drawing

Floral Formula: Floral Formula:


Drawing Drawing

Floral Formula Floral Formula


Worksheet 5

Busy Bees

Do bees prefer different colour flowers?

1. Choose a comfortable place where you can observe


bees visiting different colour flowers. Make sure that you
are quiet and do not disturb the bees working.

2. Every time you see a bee put a tick in the correct


colour flower on the recording sheet.

3. Everyone must carry out this survey for the same


length of time.

4. Count up the bees on each flower and use the totals


to create a graph.

? Is there a link between the colour of the flower and


the number of times it was visited by bees

? Can you think of any other reasons why bees visit


flowers
Worksheet 5a

ORANGE

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