Not all plants produce flowers and seeds. Mosses and ferns make small cases which fill with little seed-producing spores. The cases on moss plants hang from stalks above the plant. The cases on ferns are hidden on the underside of the leaves. The spores contain tiny parts of a moss or fern plant which grow out and form new plants when the spores land in damp soil. Conifers are trees that produce cones instead of flowers. Nevertheless, there are over a quarter of a million different kinds of flowering plant.

A flower forms in a bud on a stem. The bud is a small lump which is often covered in small green leaves. The leaves protect the flower as it forms. Each kind of flowering plant produces flowers at a certain time of year. One of the first plants to produce flowers is the snowdrop. They come into bloom in January. Most plants bloom in the spring and early summer. A few plants, such as the shepherd's purse, can be found in flower all through the year.

The flowers that we notice are those that attract insects to them to help the plant breed. These flowers have got large bright petals so the insects can see them or a sweet smell. The petals may have hairs on them which release scent so the insect can smell them. When the insect arrives on the flower it is rewarded with a drink of nectar. Many petals have lines on them called honey guides which the insects follow to find the nectar. As the insect searches for the nectar it brushes against the male and female parts of the flower and helps them reproduce.

The male parts of the flower form a ring inside the petals. They are called stamens. You can recognise a stamen by its yellow tip at the end of a long stalk. The female parts are at the centre of the flower. In many flowers the female part is like a long necked bottle. Sometimes, as in the buttercup, it is round and spiky.

Most plants do not stay in flower for long. As soon as the flower begins to form seeds the petals and stamens fall off and the female part turns in to a fruit. In most plants the leaves which protected the flower in bud fall away too.