Question

A floral formula represents
A) Plant symmetry
B) Floral position
C) Floral structure
D) Floral functions

Answer 1

Floral formula is the graphical representation of flower structure. It generally represents the relative position and number of floral parts in relation to the mother axis or inflorescence axis.

Complete answer:
The floral formula can be defined as the system of representing the structure of a flower with the help of some symbolic as well as numeric symbols. The floral formula gives information regarding different parts of a flower such as a type and number of organs, symmetry type, level of ovary, presence of fusions, and interrelationships of different floral parts which are corolla, calyx, androecium, and gynoecium.

There is some written shorthand that is used in writing while representing the structure of a flower. The set of symbols are always in the same order, sepals (CA), petals (CO), stamens (A), and carpels (G). The number of each part in the flower is indicated with a superscript number after the letters. These formulae are beneficial to remember the characteristics of different angiosperm families.

It mainly consists of 5 symbols which indicate:
-Number of sepals
-Number of petals
-Floral symmetry
-Number of carpels
-Number of stamens

However, the major disadvantage of the floral formula is that it lacks the information of details of organ position.

Thus, the correct answer is option (C) Floral structure.

Note: It is to be noted that American and European traditions differ in the way of writing floral formulae, however, they still deliver the same information. Floral formulae can be given for an entire family or for a specific species