- Most flowers are bisexual, which means they have both male and female parts on the one flower. Examples include Acacia sp., Corymbia sp., Eucalyptus sp., Melaleuca sp., Lillium sp. Bisexual flowers are also known as perfect or complete.
-
If a flower only has one of the sexual parts present, they are called unisexual flowers.
-
If both types of unisexual flowers are on a plant it is called monoecious. Examples include Ficus racemosa and Gyrocarpus americanus.
-
If plants only bear one type of flower they are dioecious, such as Canarium australianum, Petalostigma pubescens, and Papaya.
-
This means each plant may be male or female, just like most of the animals we are familiar with.
-
Bisexual flowers are complete as all flower parts are present.
-
Unisexual flowers are incomplete as the male or female parts are missing.
