Male & Female Stage Blossoms on Fruit Trees

• Some fruit plants have flowers that have both male and female reproductive organs. These flowers change between being male and female. When the flowers are in the male stage, they release pollen that flowers in the female stage receive.

Avocado

• An avocado (Persea americana Mill.) flower first opens as a female. Flying insects such as bees transfer pollen from other avocado flowers that are in the male stage to this female flower. After two to three hours, the female flowers then closes for the rest of the day and opens again the next day as a male flower. At this stage, the flower sheds pollen for a few hours. It then closes again and develops into an avocado fruit, if it has been successfully pollinated during its first opening as a female flower.

Sugar Apple

• Also known as annon, custard apple, sweetsop and sugar apple (Annona squamosa L.) its flowers have both male and female reproductive parts that function at different times of the day. A sugar apple flower first opens during the day to receive pollen. A flower in the female stage only opens its petals slightly and has a glisten on its stigma. The next morning, the flower opens wider to shed pollen and stops its female parts from working, functioning as a male flower. A flower in the male stage has fragile petals and brownish stamens.

Atemoya

• Atemoya (Annona squamosa --- Annona cherimola) comes from a cross between the sugar apple and a cherimoya. The flower first opens in its female stage in the afternoon. At this stage, the flower only opens slightly and has whitish stamens. The next fternoon, the flower opens as a male flower. During its male stage, the flower opens widely, has brownish stamens and petals that can easily fall. Sometimes inadequate pollination occurs, resulting in misshapen fruit. Hand pollination can improve the fruits.

Pawpaw

• A pawpaw (Asimina) flower first goes through the female stage, when it has tight petals to force flying insects to brush against the stigmas and pollinate the flower. After pollination, the petals change color from green to maroon. The anthers still appear like a solid green ball and the stigmas look green and shiny. Later, the flower goes through a male stage, where the petals darken in color and the flower releases an intense fetid odor. The anthers loosen, turn from green to brown and shed yellow pollen. The petals open to allow insects to collect pollen on their backs.