Biology · Morphology of Flowering Plants · NEET
No. The stamen is the WHOLE male unit. It has two parts: the filament (the thin stalk) and the anther (the head that holds pollen). So filament and anther are PARTS of the stamen, not the stamen itself. NCERT: 'Each stamen consists of a stalk or a filament and an anther.' NEET often tricks you by using these three words as if they mean the same thing. They do not.
An anther is usually bilobed (two lobes). Each lobe has two chambers, and these chambers are the pollen-sacs. So one anther = 2 lobes x 2 sacs = 4 pollen-sacs. Because it has two lobes/thecae it is called dithecous. Pollen grains are made inside these pollen-sacs. This exact count (4) is a favourite NEET one-liner.
A staminode is a sterile stamen. It looks like a stamen but does NOT make pollen (no working anther). NCERT line: 'A sterile stamen is called staminode.' NEET asks this as a direct definition. Compare it with the gynoecium term for a sterile carpel (there is none standard here) and with 'staminate' (a male flower) so you do not confuse the words.
The proximal (lower/basal) end of the filament is attached to the thalamus (or to the petals if the stamen is epipetalous, like brinjal). The distal (upper) end of the filament carries the anther. This is exactly the NEET 2016 Phase 1 question: 'Proximal end of the filament is attached to the thalamus or petal.' Remember: proximal = near the base = thalamus.
The connective is the sterile tissue that joins the two anther lobes together and links them to the top of the filament. It is NOT where the filament attaches to the flower base. NEET puts 'connective' as a wrong option against 'thalamus'. The connective connects the two lobes; the filament base connects to the thalamus.
No. Filament length can vary within a single flower. NCERT gives Salvia and mustard as examples. This unequal length leads to special terms: didynamous (2 long + 2 short, as in Salvia) and tetradynamous (4 long + 2 short, as in mustard/Brassicaceae). This was tested in NEET 2016 Phase 2 (count of plants with unequal stamens).
Proximal end of the filament of stamen is attached to the:
How many plants among Indigofera, Sesbania, Salvia, Allium, Aloe, mustard, groundnut, radish, gram and turnip have stamens with different lengths in their flowers?
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
A stamen has a filament (the stalk) and an anther (the knob on top that holds pollen). NCERT: 'Each stamen consists of a stalk or a filament and an anther.'
A staminode is a sterile stamen. It does not produce any pollen grains. This is a direct NCERT definition and a common NEET one-line question.
Four. The anther is usually bilobed, and each lobe has two chambers (pollen-sacs), giving 2 x 2 = 4 pollen-sacs. This is why a normal anther is called dithecous.
Epipetalous means the stamens are attached to the petals, as in brinjal. If they are attached to the perianth (tepals), they are epiphyllous, as in lily. This decides where the filament base is fixed.
The filament is the stalk that holds the anther and attaches to the thalamus at its base. The connective is the small sterile band that joins the two anther lobes at the top of the filament. NEET often lists both as options to confuse you.
