Flower symmetry

Flower symmetry describes how many planes drawn through the centre of a flower will divide it into two identical, mirror-image halves - an important structural adaptation tied to how the flower is pollinated. An actinomorphic (radial, polysymmetric) flower can be cut into two identical halves along more than one plane through its centre (Hibiscus, Datura, water lily). A zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetric, monosymmetric) flower can be divided into equal halves along only one specific plane; this shape lets the flower guide a visiting pollinator's body more precisely, transferring pollen more efficiently (Pisum, bean, Cassia, gulmohar, Salvia, Ocimum). An asymmetric (amorphic …