MR MANDONA JOHN NORTEC
What Is Floral Formula?
“It is the numerical representation of the relative position and number of floral parts in
relation to the mother axis or inflorescence axis”
Floral formulae are symbolic as well as numeric representations of different parts of a
flower. It renders information on the type and number of organs, symmetry type, level of
ovary, presence of fusions, and interrelationships of different floral parts which are
corolla, calyx, androecium, and gynoecium.
However, floral formulae lack the information of details of organ position. American and
European traditions differ in the way floral formulae are projected, while still delivering
the same information. Floral formulae can be given for an entire family or for a specific
species
Introduction To Floral Formulae
Flowers are determinate structures with a typically defined number of organs, bearing
pistillate and staminate parts. Organs are set in four series – petals, sepals, stamens
and carpels.
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MR MANDONA JOHN NORTEC
Floral formulae are a system to represent a flower’s structure using specific numbers,
letters, and symbols, hence it is a simple way to present salient features of a flower. It
portrays the number of parts, floral symmetry, connotation and adnation, ovary position
and insertion. These formulae are beneficial to remember the characteristics of different
angiosperm families. It mainly consists of 5 symbols which indicate:
Number of sepals
Number of petals
Floral symmetry
Number of carpels
Number of stamens
Position of ovary
On the basis of the position of the corolla, calyx and androecium corresponding to the
ovary on the thalamus, flowers can be described as hypogynous, epigynous and
perigynous.
The gynoecium in the hypogynous flower occupies the highest position, other parts are
located below it. Here the ovary is said to be superior. Such positioning of the ovary can
be observed in brinjal, china rose and mustard flowers.
The margin of the thalamus in epigynous flowers, shoots upwards enveloping the ovary
fully, thereby uniting with the other floral parts hence arising above the ovary. This is
why it is said to be inferior as seen in the flowers of ray florets of sunflower, cucumber,
and guava.
Perigynous is the condition observed in flowers, wherein the gynoecium is located in the
center and floral parts are situated on the rim of the thalamus, at almost the same level.
Ovaries here are half inferior as seen in flowers of peach, rose and plum.
Construction Of Floral Formulae
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MR MANDONA JOHN NORTEC
Floral whorls are represented in concentric circles. The outermost circle for
sepals, second for petals, third for stamens and innermost for carpels
Calyx is drawn as a circle of arcs with triangular tips towards outside. Petals are
drawn as arcs with smooth surfaces alternating with sepals. If sepals/petals are
free, then the arcs are free otherwise the margins of the arcs are joined by lines.
Aestivation is shown by overlapping margins of arcs
Stamens are represented as four-lobed structures for dithecous anthers and
uniform shape for monothecous anthers and alternate with petals
The gynoecium is represented in the center by showing the transverse section of
the ovary
A bract is drawn at the base and bracteoles towards the sides
Mother axis is shown at the top of the floral diagram as a small circle with a dot
A number assigned just after the symbol indicates the number of parts in that
specific whole. If whorls are united, the number would be shown bracketed
The presence of more than one whole of an organ is indicated by the
representative parts. A flower having 3 whorls of five stamens each, is
represented by the androecium in this way A5+5+5
An arrow is made when one organ is united with the other, starting from the top
of one symbol ending on top of the other symbol for the organ that is united.
The missing organ is indicated by a 0 or zero after its respective symbol. If the
number of organs in a whorl is more than 10, then the symbol will be followed by
∞
A line placed over the number of carpels indicates the epigynous condition.
Hypogynous condition is indicated by line under the number of carpels
Floral diagrams
Floral diagrams are a graphical means to describe the flower. These pictures show a
cross-section (or cross-sections) of a young flower or a bud, they can be also defined as
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MR MANDONA JOHN NORTEC
a view of the flower perpendicular to its axis. They were introduced in the 19th century
and are generally credited to August Wilhelm Eichler, a german botanist.
Parts of the flower are represented by distinguishable symbols. They can be uniform
across different diagrams, or can reflect concrete morphology. Rendering of the diagrams
usually alters between authors.
The circle in the upper part of the diagram shows the position of the main stem, this way
the correct orientation is ensured. Pointed arcs represent bracts and bracteoles, modified
leaves located before the flower itself.
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