A flowering plant is any plant that produces flowers as part of how it reproduces. When you see roses, sunflowers, apple trees, or even dandelions blooming, you're looking at flowering plants. The flowers serve a vital purpose: they contain the plant's reproductive parts and help create seeds that will grow into new plants.

Flowering plants are the most diverse and successful group of plants on Earth, with over 300,000 known species. They range from tiny duckweed floating on ponds to massive oak trees, from desert cacti to tropical orchids. What unites them all is that they produce flowers, even if those flowers are small or hidden.

Scientists call flowering plants angiosperms, which means “enclosed seed” in Greek. Unlike pine trees or ferns, flowering plants protect their seeds inside fruits. An apple is a fruit protecting seeds. So is a pea pod.

Flowering plants appeared around 140 million years ago and changed Earth's landscape dramatically. They developed partnerships with insects, birds, and other animals that spread their pollen and seeds. Today, flowering plants provide most of the food humans eat: grains like wheat and rice, fruits, vegetables, and nuts all come from flowering plants. Even cotton for clothing comes from a flowering plant.