gynoecia

Gynoecia, or gynoecium, is the collective term for the female reproductive organs of a flower. It consists of one or more carpels, which enclose the ovules and, after fertilization, develop into seeds. The gynoecium typically includes the ovary, style, and stigma, though the exact arrangement varies among taxa.

Carpels may be unfused (apocarpous gynoecia) or fused into a single ovary (syncarpous gynoecia). The internal arrangement of ovules within the ovary is described by placentation types—axile, parietal, or free-central—depending on where ovules are attached within the ovary.

Ovary position relative to other floral parts is also used in classification. In hypogynous flowers the ovary sits above the receptacle (superior ovary). In perigynous flowers a floral cup (hypanthium) surrounds the ovary, which remains superior. In epigynous flowers the ovary is inferior, and other floral parts arise from the receptacle around it.

The gynoecium is central to reproduction: pollination of the stigma enables pollen tubes to reach ovules inside the ovary, and fertilization leads to seed and fruit development. In many species the gynoecium is a key source of diagnostic features used in plant taxonomy, with differences in carpel number and arrangement, fusion, placentation, and ovary position aiding species and family identification.