Flowers growing in woodland spring garden, Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland - Stockfoto

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in plants that are floral (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs. Flowers may facilitate outcrossing (fusion of sperm and eggs from different individuals in a population) or allow selfing (fusion of sperm and egg from the same flower). Some flowers produce diaspores without fertilization (parthenocarpy).