Pollination - Infoplease.com

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Pollination
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The male sex cells of seed plants (flowering plants, conifers, and cycads) are contained in tough capsules called POLLEN. Pollen grains are produced by organs called anthers and must be transferred to the female parts of plants in order to form seeds. This process, called pollination, can be achieved in various ways. Some plants are assisted by animals that act as POLLINATORS. Others use the wind to take their pollen where it is needed.

The female part of a flower has a special swelling, called a stigma. When pollen grains land on the stigma, they stick to it and begin to germinate. A microscopic tube sprouts from each pollen grain and starts to grow into the stigma. It then grows down through a stalk, called the style, towards the eggs in the ovules below. A flower’s stigma is held up on a style so it can catch pollen.

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