by Mary Free and Christa Watters, Extension Master Gardeners
Many of us started our study of botany being taught that the male parts of a flower are the stamens, and the female parts are the pistils, consisting of the ovary, style, and stigma. In more current botanical literature, however, you would have read that the female reproductive structure is made up of one or more carpels. So what is the difference between a carpel and a pistil, and how does the word gynoecium fit in? If these questions have been nagging you, then click here to learn more.
Left to right: The flower of native Magnolia virginiana (sweetbay magnolia) has 32–102 stamens (which have fallen) and 9–50 free carpels. Each simple pistil has a superior ovary, style, and stigma arranged on an elongated floral receptacle. The aggregate fruit is an etaerio of follicles.
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