Pea Flower Diagram – Anatomy of a Pea Plant Flower

All 12 parts on the diagram

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Whole flower 5

Standard (banner) The large upper petal. It wraps the others in the bud.
Wings (wing petals) The two side petals. They lie over the keel.
Keel Two lower petals joined into a boat shape. It encloses the stamens and the pistil.
Sepals (calyx) Five sepals joined into a cup with pointed teeth.
Flower stalk (pedicel) The stalk of a single flower.

Opened flower 7

Stamen tube (nine joined stamens) Nine stamens joined by their filaments into a sheath. It wraps the ovary.
Free stamen The tenth stamen. It is not joined to the other nine.
Anthers The tips of the stamens. They make the pollen.
Stigma The tip of the pistil. Pollen lands on it.
Style The stalk of the pistil. It carries the stigma.
Ovary (young pod) The long base of the pistil. It grows into the pod.
Ovules (young peas) Each ovule can grow into a seed, a pea.

How this list was compiled: Every name and statement was checked on 2026-10-03 against sources read that day; a name is kept only when two of them use it. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Papilionaceous flower, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilionaceous_flower (a single large upper petal, the banner or standard; two smaller lateral wings; two keel petals joined into a boat-shaped structure that encloses the stamens and the pistil; stamens often in two sets, a sheath that envelops the pistil in a tube and divides into nine filaments, and a single free filament above them; peas among the examples), Fabaceae, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabaceae (five generally fused sepals; ten stamens, often nine plus one separate; one elongated ovary with a curved style; the ovary develops into a legume, or pod), Pea, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea (pods grow from a pea flower's ovary and contain several seeds, the peas; pea plants can self-pollinate), and Pedicel (botany), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedicel_(botany) (a pedicel joins one flower to its inflorescence's stalk). (2) Asa Gray, The Elements of Botany for Beginners and for Schools, 1887, public domain, https://archive.org/details/elementsofbotany00gray (section 264, the papilionaceous corolla: the standard or banner, the large upper petal which is external in the bud and wrapped around the others; the wings, the pair of side petals; the keel, the two lower petals lightly joined into a body like the prow of a boat, which encloses the stamens and pistil; a pea blossom is a typical example; figure 288, diadelphous stamens, 9 and 1, of a pea blossom; section 204, the stalk that supports each separate flower of a cluster is called a pedicel; calyx and anther in the glossary). (3) John N. Martin, Botany for Agricultural Students, 1919, public domain, https://archive.org/details/botanyforagricul00mart (flowers of the bean family, pages 23 and 24: the calyx a shallow five-toothed cup, the standard or banner, the two wings, the boat-shaped keel, the stamens and pistil entirely enclosed by the keel; page 15: ten stamens in two groups, nine joined and one free; figure 39, flower and pod of the garden pea: ovary, ovules, stamens, stigma, style, the matured ovary called the pod, each seed a developed ovule; page 53: in beans and peas self-pollination is the usual method). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain curves; own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This pea flower diagram shows the anatomy of a pea plant flower in two drawings: the whole flower with its standard, wings and keel, then the same flower opened, with the ten stamens and the pistil the keel covers.

Read the full guide

Five petals, three names

The big upright petal is the standard, or banner. The two side petals are the wings. The two lowest petals are joined into the boat-shaped keel. A cup of five sepals holds them at the base.

Inside the keel

Nine stamens are joined into a tube around the long ovary, and a tenth lies free along its top. The style bends up from the tip of the ovary and ends in the stigma. The ovary becomes the pod and its ovules the peas.

The stamens and the pistil sit shut inside the keel. A pea flower usually pollinates itself.
Flowers of this shape are called papilionaceous, which means butterfly-like. Beans, clovers and sweet peas have them too.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a pea flower?

A cup of five sepals, five petals (one standard, two wings and two joined as the keel), ten stamens (nine joined in a tube and one free) and one pistil with its ovary, style and stigma.

What is the keel of a pea flower?

The two lowest petals, joined into a boat shape. The keel closes over the stamens and the pistil, so they stay hidden until the keel is pulled down.

How many stamens does a pea flower have?

Ten. Nine are joined by their filaments into a tube around the ovary and the tenth is free. Stamens joined in two sets like this are called diadelphous.

Does a pea flower pollinate itself?

Usually. In peas self-pollination is the usual way, and the anthers and the stigma sit together inside the closed keel.

How do I sketch and label the anatomy of a pea plant flower?

Copy the whole flower first: stalk, sepals, standard, wing and keel. Then draw it opened, with the stamen tube, the free stamen, the anthers and the pistil. Print blank gives the drawing with numbered rings and a numbered line for each name.