Introduction

Introduction to Pollination

Pollination is how plants move their yellow dust from the male part to the female part.

Pollination is the process of transferring pollen from the anther to the stigma.

This means the plant is just trying to move its seeds-starter to where it can grow.

Pollen can move from the anthers to the stigma of the very same flower, or to another flower on the same plant, or even to a flower on a different plant of the same type like two different hibiscus plants.

Pollen carries the male seeds of the plant.

Pollen contains the male gametes, or sperm, of the plant.

Think of pollen as the tiny grains that act like the father part of the plant.

It is made in the anthers and must travel to the stigma, which is where it starts to grow.

Pollen is produced in the anthers and must be transferred to the stigma, where it begins to germinate.

The anther is the factory, while the stigma is the landing ground for the pollen.

Once it lands on the stigma, the pollen grows a long thin pipe called a pollen tube.

Once on the stigma, the pollen forms a pollen tube.

This pipe is like a small tunnel for the male seeds to pass through.

This tube lets the male seeds travel down to meet the female egg cell which is hidden inside the ovules.

This tube allows the male gametes to travel to the female gamete, or egg cell, which is located inside the ovules.

The tube is just a road that leads the father part to the mother part inside the flower.

When the male seed reaches the egg cell, they join together to form a new baby plant cell called a zygote.

When the male gamete reaches the egg cell, it fuses with it to form a zygote.

This joining together is the exact moment the two cells become one.

This joining of the two cells is the start of the process we call fertilization.

This fusion marks the beginning of fertilization.

After this happens, the flower can now start turning into a fruit with seeds inside.