stammens

Stamens are the male reproductive organs of flowering plants. They form the androecium, the floral whorl responsible for producing and conveying pollen. Each stamen normally consists of a filament, a stalk that supports the anther, which contains the pollen-producing tissue. Pollen grains develop within microsporangia inside the anthers and are released when the anther dehisces.

Stamen number and arrangement vary widely among plants. Some flowers have only a few stamens, while others bear many, sometimes hundreds, arranged around the pistil. Stamens can be free or fused with each other or with other floral parts, producing structures such as a stamen tube or a fused staminal column in certain families. In some species, stamens are modified into staminodes and no longer produce functional pollen.

Stamens are classified together with the pistil as the male and female parts of a flower, respectively. A flower may be staminate (only male organs), pistillate (only female organs), or hermaphroditic (containing both stamens and pistils). The configuration and function of stamens often reflect adaptations to specific pollinators and can be important in identifying plant groups.

Developmentally, stamens arise from the floral meristem and include structures such as the epidermis, endothecium, middle layers, and the tapetum, which supports pollen development. The term and concept are central to botany, plant reproduction, and systematic biology.