What are Imperfect Flowers?

Imperfect flowers are flowers that only have one set of reproductive organs, so they are either male or female. There are two types of imperfect flowers. Staminate flowers contain only stamens, the male reproductive part of the flower. Pistillate flowers only contain the pistil, or female, reproductive part. Perfect flowers, on the other hand, such as roses, are flowers that contain both a pistil and stamens, and therefore are both male and female. A third type of flower, the incomplete flower, can be either perfect or imperfect, but is missing one of the four major parts of a flower: the pistil, stamens, petals or sepals. While perfect flowers can reproduce entirely within one bloom, imperfect flowers need two separate flowers in order to pollinate themselves and create seeds. Imperfect flowers may be pollinated by animals, insects, weather or humans, but they will always need some sort of outside facilitation in order to reproduce. Imperfect flowers grow on one of two types of plants ... more

This question should really be part of the previous question, "What are perfect flowers?" You can't really discuss what an imperfect flower is, without a description of a perfect one... An "imperfect" flower is one that contains one set of sexual organs: either the male stamen or the female pistil. Female or pistillate flowers have pistils, but no stamens. Male or staminate flowers lack pistils. An imperfect flower cannot self-pollinate, but must to be cross-pollinated with pollen from a different flower. Please refer to http://www.answerbag.com/a_view.php/58258 for a description of perfect flowers. [With information from "The Principles of Gardening", H. Johnson. ... more