• Botanists estimate that there are thousands of different varieties of flowers in the world."Foursome" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Vince Alongi under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  

Types

• Flowers are classified based on their growing patterns (annual, perennial or biennial), petal arrangement and the type of climate in which they are best suited to grow (for example, temperate, tropical or wetland). Beyond this, flowers are further separated by the types of plants that they bloom on and their reproductive characteristics.
  
  

Reproductive Identification

• Flowers have two different means of spreading their pollen to reproduce. Flowers that spread their pollen by wind have small petals and no scent. Other flowers must rely on insects to spread their pollen, and because of this they have developed means to attract insects, such as large, brightly colored petals, fragrant odors and nectar.
  
  

Time Frame

• Annual flowers last for only a year before dying; they typically spread their seeds during the end of the life cycle and thus may repopulate the same area the following year. Perennials retain their root systems from the first planting, allowing the same plant to bloom each year. Biennial flowers have a two-year growing cycle, and the flowers do not bloom until the second year, after which they die. Like annuals, biennials are self-propagating, so their seeds may repopulate the garden.
  
  

Popular Varieties

• One of the most identifiable flowers in the world is the rose, which comes in a variety of different colors and sizes. Other popular types of flowers include daffodils, daisies, lilies, orchids, carnations and hibiscus, to name a few.
  
  

Considerations

• Flowers come in so many varieties and encompass so many plants that it is sometimes hard to tell the differences between a flower and a weed. Botanically speaking, the major difference between the two is mostly aesthetic: Weeds simply are flowers that grow in unwanted areas.