Flower Anatomy & Pollination Simulator
Click a flower's parts to learn stigma, style, ovary, anther, filament, petal and sepal, then choose a pollination method and watch a fruit develop.
Click a part on the diagram to see it here.
About the Flower Anatomy & Pollination Simulator
Free flower anatomy & pollination simulator. Click a flower's parts to learn stigma, style, ovary, anther, filament, petal and sepal, then choose a pollination method and watch a fruit develop. Drag, change the sliders and see the result live. No sign-up, works on phone and computer. Built for botany, the flower anatomy & pollination simulator runs instantly in your browser: change a setting or drag an object and the result updates at once, so you learn by trying things out rather than only reading about them.
Click a flower's parts to learn stigma, style, ovary, anther, filament, petal and sepal, then choose a pollination method and watch a fruit develop. Use it to explore botany ideas at your own pace, then check what you found against the key ideas further down this page.
How to use the Flower Anatomy & Pollination Simulator
- Use the controls to change Method, Wind speed, Nectar reward, Petal visibility (colour/size). The simulation reacts instantly.
- Pick an option such as Wind, Bee, Butterfly, Manual (hand) to switch modes or load an example.
- Press "Pollinate now", "Reset to defaults", "📄 Lab Report" to start, reset or change what is happening.
- Where you see a glowing handle, object, weight or atom, drag it with your mouse or finger. Everything responds in real time.
- Watch the readouts and graphs update as you experiment, and compare what you see with the key ideas below.
Things to try
- Click every part of the flower and read its job before pollinating.
- Compare the success chance for wind at low wind speed versus a bee visit with high nectar.
- Try manual pollination and see why growers hand-pollinate vanilla and some greenhouse crops.
- Play the label-the-parts quiz until you score at least 8 in a row.
Key ideas you can learn
- The pistil (stigma, style, ovary) is the female part of the flower; the stamen (anther, filament) is the male part.
- Pollination methods differ: wind relies on chance and volume, insects rely on nectar rewards and visible petals, and hand pollination is done deliberately by farmers for high-value crops.
- After a pollen grain lands on the stigma, it grows a pollen tube down the style to fertilise an ovule in the ovary.
- After fertilisation, the ovary develops into a fruit and its ovules become seeds.
Where this is used in the real world
Farmers rent honeybee hives to pollinate almond and fruit orchards, and greenhouse growers hand-pollinate or use bumblebee colonies for tomatoes, because pollination success directly determines fruit yield.
Who is this simulation for?
Students, teachers and curious learners of all ages.
For teachers: project it on the board, let students predict what will happen, then run it together. For students: change one thing at a time and write down what changes.
Frequently asked questions
Why do some flowers have bright petals and nectar while others do not?
Insect-pollinated flowers invest in colour, scent and nectar to attract bees and butterflies, while wind-pollinated flowers save that energy since they don't need to attract anyone.
What happens to the ovary after successful pollination?
A pollen tube grows down the style, fertilises an ovule, and this triggers the ovary to swell and ripen into a fruit while the ovule becomes a seed.
Is the Flower Anatomy & Pollination Simulator free to use?
Yes. It is completely free, with no signup, no download and no ads inside the simulation. It runs in your web browser.
Does the Flower Anatomy & Pollination Simulator work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. It uses touch as well as the mouse, so you can drag objects with your finger. A larger screen makes the controls easier to see.