Flower Ovary

The flower ovary is the basal portion of the carpel, the female part of a flower. The ovary of an angiosperm flowering plant is a protective chamber that contains one or more ovules. Through meiosis and mitosis in an ovule, an egg develops. When pollination occurs and a sperm fertilizes the egg in an ovule, a zygote is formed. A seed develops from each ovule and consists of an embryo, which is surrounded by a seed coat and food supply. The ovary’s wall thickens to form the fruit that encloses these seeds.  Fruits, such as the two peaches pictured here, are the ripened ovaries of a flower. It contains seeds, which are the developed ovules, and in which the embryo resides.  The fruit protects the seeds and is an adaptation that helps disperse seeds. These fruits can be dispersed by wind, water, and animals. For example, the edible peach fruit may be eaten by animals, and the seeds are dispersed, far away from the parent plant, through the animal’s feces. Once the seed is deposited into the ground again, over time it germinates and the embryo grows into a plant.