Floral Vasculature

Floral Vasculature

In the majority of flowers, each organ is served by a single vascular strand that diverges from the central vascular cylinder in the receptacle and subsequently branches (Figs 5.5, 5.6). 

Perianth traces are normally highly branched, often forming a vascular network. Most stamens typically bear a single vascular strand, but some families characteristically possess three or four stamen traces. Others, such as Araceae³⁵, possess diverse and often branching stamen vasculature. Many species possess two carpellary vascular bundles: the ventral carpellary trace, which diverges into the ovules, and the dorsal carpellary trace, which passes up the style into the stigma (Fig. 5.7). The number of vascular bundles in the style of a syncarpous gynoecium is often an indicator of the number of carpels present, though in some species bundles are branched or fused.