pestók

Pestík is the Czech term for the pistil, the female reproductive organ of a flowering plant. A pistil can be a single carpel or a group of fused carpels, and it may be composed of stigma, style, and ovary. The stigma is the receptive surface for pollen and is often sticky or feathery. The style is a stalk that connects the stigma with the ovary, through which the pollen tube grows. The ovary contains ovules, which when fertilized develop into seeds; after fertilization, the ovary often enlarges and matures into a fruit, enclosing the seeds.

In many flowers there is a single pistil, but some flowers have multiple pistils or several carpels that are separate (apocarpous) or fused (syncarpous). The position of the ovary relative to other floral parts defines whether it is superior or inferior. Fertilization in angiosperms typically involves double fertilization: one sperm fertilizes the egg to form a zygote, the other fuses with polar nuclei to form endosperm.

The study of pistil morphology and placement is important in plant taxonomy and breeding, as variations in pistil structure affect pollination and fruit development. Crops rely on effective pollination of the pistil by pollen from stamens or other plants, often with assist from pollinators or abiotic factors.