Staminate

Staminate is a botanical term used to describe a plant or flower that bears stamens, the male reproductive structures that produce pollen. A staminate flower typically lacks a functional pistil and is therefore unable to set seed on its own. The word is used as both an adjective and a noun to indicate the plant that bears such flowers.

In flowering plants, stamens consist of a filament and an anther, where pollen is formed. Staminate flowers may appear singly or in inflorescences, and their petals and sepals can be reduced or absent depending on the species. The opposite condition is pistillate, describing flowers with pistils (ovary, style, and stigma) but without functional stamens. Some species have both staminate and pistillate flowers on the same plant (monoecious), while others have male and female plants separately (dioecious).

Staminate and pistillate flowers are important for pollination dynamics. Pollen produced by staminate flowers fertilizes pistillate flowers or female flowers, facilitating seed production. In agricultural contexts, recognizing staminate structures helps manage breeding, fruiting, and crop yields. Notable examples include the maize tassel, a prominent staminate inflorescence, and many grasses that shed pollen from staminate flowers. Some trees and shrubs also produce staminate catkins in spring.

This term is widely used in botany, horticulture, and plant breeding to describe the male sex expression of flowers and plants, and it is commonly contrasted with pistillate in discussions of plant sexuality and reproduction.