Red Roses - A floral formula is a way to represent the structure of a flower using specific letters, numbers, and symbols. Typically, a general formula will be used to represent the flower structure of a plant family rather than a particular species. The following representations are used: Ca = calyx (sepal whorl; e.g. Ca5 = 5 sepals) Co = corolla (petal whorl; e.g., Co3(x) = petals some multiple of three ) Z = add if zygomorphic (e.g., CoZ6 = zygomorphic with 6 petals) A = androecium (whorl of stamens; e.g., A8 = many stamens) G = gynoecium (carpel or carpels; e.g., G1 = monocarpous) x - to represent a 'variable number' 8 - to represent 'many' A floral formula would appear something like this: Ca5Co5A10 - 8G1