I know that you have all looked at flowers, but have you ever had a REALLY, REALLY close look? Flowers are very interesting and they are made up of a number of different parts. These parts may differ in size, shape and position from flower to flower, but the major organs can usually be seen quite easily if you look closely. A magnifying glass helps you to see the parts even better. These are the reproductive organs of the plant and are used to create seeds and therefore new plants.

You will need: flowers, a magnifying glass

1. Choose largish flowers. This makes it much easier to see. Lilies, camellias, azaleas, single roses, jonquils, daffodils and citrus flowers are all fine. Don't choose daisy flowers because they are actually made up of hundreds in tiny individual flowers and are too small to see clearly. (With some flowers you will have to pull the petals apart gently to reveal the flower parts at the centre. A adult may slice the side off the flower for you with a Stanley knife so that you can see better.)

2. Look at the diagram and then see if you can recognise the parts in your flower. (They might be shaped differently.) Here are some general tips:

There is only one stigma (it may be branched at the top), but many stamens.

The anthers are often yellow. If you look through your magnifying glass you may be able to see lots of little grains of pollen covering them.

The tip of the stigma is often sticky-looking (it may have some pollen grains stuck to it too.)

Don’t worry if you can’t see any calyx. Some flowers have tepals instead of petals and there is no calyx. Tulips have tepals.

3. The stamen is made up of the filament and the anther. The stamen is the boy bit of the flower. The pistil is made up of the style, stigma and ovary. The pistil is the girl bit.

4. The anthers release pollen which has to be transported to a stigma. Some plants allow pollen from their own anthers to pollinate their own stigmas. This is called self-pollination. (Their stamens are usually longer than their pistils. Can you think why?) Other plants need the stigma to receive pollen from a flower on a separate plant. This is called cross-pollination. (Their pistils are often longer than their anthers.) The pollen is carried by wind, insects (especially bees), animals or birds and sometimes water.

5. When a correct pollen grain lands on a stigma that is ready to be fertilised, the pollen grain sends down a long tube all the way down the style to the ovary where it fertilises one of the female eggs and a seed begins to form.