An Aquatic Plant Identification Manual for Washington's Freshwater Plants

Flower: The reproductive part of a plant . Flowers may be male or female only, or both male and female (complete). 

Petals: The inner ring of the flower leaves. Often white or brightly colored to attract pollinators. 

Pistil: The female flower organ, consisting of the seed-bearing ovary, stigma and style. 

Sepals: The outermost ring of the flower leaves; often green and leafy in structure. 

Stamen: The male part of a flower, usually consisting of the stalk-like filament and the pollen bearing anther. 

Stigma: The upper tip of the pistil of the flower, receives the pollen. 

Style: The stalk-like portion of the pistil between the stigma and the ovary. 

Illustration from Aquatic Plant Identification and Herbicide Use Guide, Technical Report A-88-9. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station. Used with permission

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