Stigma (botany) Stigma (botany) The stigma (plural: stigmata) is the receptive tip of a carpel, or of several fused carpels, in the gynoecium of a flower. The stigma, together with the style and ovary comprises the pistil, which in turn is part of the gynoecium or female reproductive organ of a plant. The stigma forms the distal portion of the style or stylodia. The stigma is composed of , the cells which are receptive to pollen. These may be restricted to the apex of the style or, especially in wind pollinated species, cover a wide surface. The stigma receives pollen and it
Dehiscence (botany) Dehiscence (botany) Dehiscence is the splitting along a built-in line of weakness in a plant structure in order to release its contents, and is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that open in this way are said to be dehiscent. Structures that do not open in this way are called indehiscent, and rely on other mechanisms such as decay or predation to release the contents. A similar process to dehiscence occurs in some flower buds (e.g., "Platycodon", "Fuchsia"), but this is rarely referred to as dehiscence unless circumscissile dehiscence is