Last reviewed: 25 October 2026
Flowers are a reproduction topic that runs through CBC science, from upper primary Science and Technology into junior school Integrated Science. Learners are expected to label a flower, explain pollination and describe how seeds spread. This guide covers each part clearly, with examples of plants learners see every day. Reproduction in plants, including pollination, is a sub-strand in KICD’s Grade 9 Integrated Science curriculum design.
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Why Plants Have Flowers
Flowers are the reproductive parts of flowering plants. Their job is to produce seeds that grow into new plants. Bright colours, scent and nectar attract animals that help with pollination, while some flowers rely on wind instead.
Parts of a Flower and Their Functions
- Stalk (pedicel): holds the flower up.
- Receptacle: the top of the stalk where the flower parts are attached.
- Sepals: green, leaf-like parts that protect the flower when it is a bud.
- Petals: often brightly coloured and scented to attract insects and birds.
- Stamen (male part): made of the anther, which produces pollen grains, and the filament, a stalk that holds the anther up.
- Pistil or carpel (female part): made of the stigma, a sticky top that receives pollen; the style, which connects stigma to ovary; and the ovary, which contains ovules.
- Nectary: produces sweet nectar that attracts pollinators.
Hibiscus is a good flower to study at home because its parts are large and easy to see.
What Pollination Is
Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from an anther to a stigma. Self-pollination happens when pollen reaches the stigma of the same flower or another flower on the same plant. Cross-pollination happens when pollen moves to a flower on a different plant of the same kind. Cross-pollination produces more variety in the offspring, which can help plants survive changes.
Agents of Pollination
Insect-pollinated flowers, such as hibiscus, sunflower and many fruit trees, usually have large, colourful petals, scent and nectar; sticky or rough pollen that clings to insects; and anthers and stigmas inside the flower where insects brush past them. Bees are among the most important pollinators for Kenyan crops.
Wind-pollinated flowers, such as maize, wheat and grasses, usually have small, dull petals or none; no scent or nectar; large amounts of light, smooth pollen; and feathery stigmas and anthers hanging outside the flower to catch and release pollen in the wind. In maize, the tassel at the top carries the male flowers and the silks are the stigmas of the female flowers.
Birds, bats and even people (in hand pollination) can also be agents of pollination.
Fertilisation, Fruits and Seeds
After pollination, a pollen tube grows from the pollen grain down the style to the ovary. The male cell joins with the female cell in the ovule. This is fertilisation. The ovule then develops into a seed and the ovary develops into a fruit, while petals and stamens usually wither and fall off.
Seed Dispersal
Seeds spread away from the parent plant to reduce competition for light, water and nutrients. Methods include:
- Animals: fleshy fruits like mangoes and guavas are eaten and seeds passed out; hooked seeds such as blackjack stick to fur and clothing.
- Wind: light or winged seeds, such as those of the jacaranda.
- Water: fruits that float, such as coconuts.
- Self (explosive): pods of beans and peas dry and burst, throwing seeds out.
Revision Tips
Cut a real flower in half lengthways and draw and label it. Compare an insect-pollinated flower with a maize tassel. Practise with the Grade 5 Science and Technology papers or the Grade 7 Integrated Science papers, and see our cells guide. Use the exam countdown and What to Revise report to track progress. Full papers with answers are in the Monthly Pass (KSh 500 by M-Pesa).