Wind-Pollinated Flowers
Wind-Pollinated Flowers
By Paul Billiet and Shirley Burchill
The Open Door Web Site
Wind-pollinated Flowers
These flowers are often small and inconspicuous since they do not need to attract insects. They do not produce nectar and they do not have any scent. Most trees and grasses have wind-pollinated flowers.
Rye Grass
Rye-grass flowers are small and very close together at the end of a long stem. In the summertime, if you look carefully enough, you can see the long, thin, anthers dangling out of the flowers. The stamens are loosely joined to the filaments and they vibrate even in the slightest breeze. They release large quantities of very small and light pollen grains which are easily carried away by the wind.
Other rye-grass flowers have mature stigmas which look like fine cotton wool as they dangle outside the flower. Some of the pollen is blown onto these stigmas where the pollen grains get caught in the network of threads.
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