flowering plant

noun

plural flowering plants

: any of a class (Angiospermae) of vascular plants that have male and female reproductive structures enclosed in a flower, that have seeds which arise from ovules contained in the ovaries, and that produce dry or fleshy fruits after double fertilization : angiosperm

The butterflies feed off the nectar of any flowering plant and lay their eggs on what's called a host plant.

—Michael Fitzpatrick

About 75% of all flowering plants rely on animal pollinators and over 200,000 species of animals act as pollinators.

—Steve Smith

Duckweed, the smallest flowering plant, measures less than 5 millimeters across.

—Timothy Cooney et al.

Examples of flowering plant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Compared to flowering plants, ferns are rarely attacked by insects. —Nina Foster, JSTOR Daily, 22 Nov. 2024

Blueberries are a type of fruit that belongs to the Ericaceae plant family – a family which also includes huckleberries, cranberries, lingonberries, and more than 4,000 species of flowering plants. —Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 21 Nov. 2024

Some of the flowering plants that remain are covered in harmful pesticides. —Nathan Rott, NPR, 19 Nov. 2024

Ginger comes from a flowering plant that originated in Southeast Asia. —Julie Marks, Verywell Health, 6 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1725, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

flowering plant

noun

: any of a major group of higher plants that produce flowers, fruits, and seeds with the seeds in a closed ovary

called also angiosperm

compare seed plant