What is the function of a petal?

It is almost always for attracting pollenators, but it can have a few more uses to a plant. It can even imitate the shape and colour of a pollenator insect (and attract others of the same insect). Or the colour may be very showy to pollenators - insects or birds. Birds see flowers in the same colours as we do (more or less). But insects are said to have all their colours shifted in such a way that white and yellow flowers are most attractive to them. This partly explains why there are so many white and yellow flowers. Insects use part of the infrared spectrum to see, and that part is mostly invisible to us (non-insects). So they are seeing different colours than we do.


Also, some flowers use their petals to guide pollenators to a convenient position to put the pollen on their head. The pollenators are usually just visiting to get a meal of nectar (juice provided by the plant). Hummingbirds go to Hibiscus plants to get nectar, and the petals help direct them to put their bills in the right place (while the other flower parts drop pollen on the birds' heads, and try to get any pollen from other plants of the same species that the bird visited). And the orchid genus Habenaria uses its complicated orchid petals to drop big balls of pollen on mosquitoes' heads

What is the function of a petal?
I guess to attract pollinators.
Reply:Simply to attract pollinators.
Reply:the others are right ... attracting pollinators. Plants that don't use pollinators (wind pollinated plants) very often have no petals at all (well, not that you'd notice ... if they are there, they are much reduced).
Reply:Pollination and protection of female and male reproductive parts of flowers.
Reply:The petal of a flower is not simply for aesthetic value. the petals have bright colors which attract pollinators, and thus aid in the process of pollination in plants.
Reply:to attract pollinators and also for a landing pad. When the flower is not ready the sepals will cover the flower and when the flower is ready the flower will blossom all the way to tell pollinators that the flower is ready to be pollinated.

rain roots