The corolla is neither male nor female. The corolla is the collective term for the petals of a flower. The petals are the showy part of the flower, attracting pollinators, but they do not directly participate in sexual reproduction.
The male reproductive parts of a flower are collectively called the stamen (composed of the anther and filament), while the female reproductive parts are the pistil (composed of stigma, style, and ovary). The calyx, made up of sepals, and the corolla are the outer whorls of a flower and are considered non-reproductive parts.
Several references confirm this:
- Reference 1 & 7: Explicitly state that the corolla (petals) and calyx (sepals) are neither male nor female.
- Reference 5 & 9: Discuss biomass allocation to male and female flower functions, further implying the corolla's non-sexual role.
- Reference 8: Defines the corolla as the collective term for petals in a flower.
While some sources discuss the Corolla (the Toyota car model) being perceived as feminine by some, this is unrelated to the botanical definition. The context matters significantly when interpreting the meaning of "Corolla".
The Amazon link (Reference 2) mentions a "Corolla" in the context of a car part, highlighting the ambiguity of the term depending on the context. The other references relating to plants and car gender stereotypes only serve to further emphasize the need to specify the context when discussing "Corolla."
