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

The park also offers scenic waterfall hikes and is home to around 800 native plant species—more flowering plants than anywhere else in Utah. —Brittany Anas, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026

If the ground isn't frozen, give early flowering plants a boost by applying and watering with a granular fertilizer. —Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 15 Jan. 2026

Hartman loves growing crops, and his mother mentioned protea, an ancient type of flowering plant found in South Africa and Australia. —Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026

Their analyses revealed toxic compounds from members of the Amaryllidaceae family of flowering plants that are indigenous to southern Africa. —Kate Wong, Scientific American, 7 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1725, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for flowering plant

• ant
• aunt
• cant
• chant
• gant
• lant
• pant
• quant
• rant
• sant
• scant
• slant

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