Pollination Basics

Some Basic Notes On Pollination

pollen; plural noun: pollens  a fine powdery substance, typically yellow, consisting of microscopic grains discharged from the male part of a flower or from a male cone. Each grain contains a male gamete that can fertilize the female ovule, to which pollen is transported by the wind, insects, or other animals. Reference

This photograph of a lily clearly shows:

- the male part of the flower: comprising the anther and filament (together,

called the ‘stamen’)

and

- the female part of the flower: the stigma and style with the ovary (containing the ovule) at the base of the flower (the ‘carpel').

The Plant Pollination Process

The following points correspond to the diagram opposite.

1. Pollen grains land on the sticky stigma.

2. A pollen tube grows down the style, followed by male sperm nuclei.

3. The sperm nuclei fuse with the female ovules.

4. The ovules develop into seed, and the ovary develops into fruit.

In most cases, more than one individual plant is needed.

This means that pollen is transferred from one plant, to another individual plant. Reference