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Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petal
Petal

A petal is one member or part of the Corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its advertising coloration....
s or sepal
Sepal

A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Sepals in a "typical" flower are green and lie under the more conspicuous petals. As a collective unit the sepals are called the Wiktionary:calyx, and the collection of petals is called the Wiktionary:corolla....
s. The term tepal is usually used when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated. When different types of organs can be distinguished, they are referred to as petals and sepals.

Undifferentiated tepals are thought to be the ancestral condition in flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s. Amborella
Amborella

Amborella trichopoda is a rare, vesselless, understory shrub or small tree found only on the island of New Caledonia. It is of great interest in plant systematics because modern molecular systematics data place it at or near the base of the flowering plants....
, which is thought to have separated earliest in the evolution of flowering plants, has flowers with undifferentiated tepals.






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Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petal
Petal

A petal is one member or part of the Corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its advertising coloration....
s or sepal
Sepal

A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Sepals in a "typical" flower are green and lie under the more conspicuous petals. As a collective unit the sepals are called the Wiktionary:calyx, and the collection of petals is called the Wiktionary:corolla....
s. The term tepal is usually used when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated. When different types of organs can be distinguished, they are referred to as petals and sepals.

Undifferentiated tepals are thought to be the ancestral condition in flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s. Amborella
Amborella

Amborella trichopoda is a rare, vesselless, understory shrub or small tree found only on the island of New Caledonia. It is of great interest in plant systematics because modern molecular systematics data place it at or near the base of the flowering plants....
, which is thought to have separated earliest in the evolution of flowering plants, has flowers with undifferentiated tepals. Distinct petals and sepals would therefore have arisen by differentiation, probably in response to animal pollination. In typical modern flowers, the first whorl
Whorl

Whorl is a type of spiral pattern.Other meanings of whorl include:* Whorl , a single, complete 360? turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell...
 of organs forms sepals, specialised for protection of the flower bud as it develops, while the second whorl forms petals, which attract pollinator
Pollinator

A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female carpel of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain....
s.

In some plants the flowers have no petals, and all the tepals are sepals modified to look like petals. These organs are described as petaloid, e.g. the sepals of Hellebore
Hellebore

Commonly known as Hellebores, members of the genus Helleborus comprise approximately 20 species of herbaceous perennial plant flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae....
.

Undifferentiated tepals are common in Monocotyledon
Monocotyledon

Monocotyledons or monocots are one of two major groups of flowering plants that are traditionally recognised, the other being dicotyledons or dicots....
s. In tulip
Tulip

Tulipa, commonly called tulip, is a genus of about 150 species of bulbous flowering plants in the family Liliaceae. The native range of the species includes southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia from Anatolia and Iran in the west to northeast of China....
s, for example, the first and second whorls both contain structures that look like petals. These are fused at the base to form one large, showy, six-parted structure. In lilies
Lilium

The genus Lilium are herbaceous flowering plants normally growing from bulbs. They comprise a genus of about 110 species in the lily family, Liliaceae....
 the organs in the first whorl are separate from the second, but all look similar, thus all the showy parts are often called tepals.

Usage of the term 'tepal' is inconsistent - some authors refer to 'sepals and petals' where others use the word 'tepals' in the same context.

Image:Tulip_-_floriade_canberra02.jpg|A Tulip
Tulip

Tulipa, commonly called tulip, is a genus of about 150 species of bulbous flowering plants in the family Liliaceae. The native range of the species includes southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia from Anatolia and Iran in the west to northeast of China....
 showing the petal
Petal

A petal is one member or part of the Corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its advertising coloration....
-like tepals Image:Anemone_coronaria_L_1.JPG|An Anemone
Anemone

Anemone , is a genus of about 120 species of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae in the north and south temperate zones. They are closely related to Pasque flowers and Hepaticas ; some botanists include both of these genera within Anemone....
 flower showing the petaloid sepals Image:2006-12-18Helleborus_niger19.jpg|An Hellebore
Hellebore

Commonly known as Hellebores, members of the genus Helleborus comprise approximately 20 species of herbaceous perennial plant flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae....
 flower showing the petaloid sepals