Pollination is the biological process by which pollen grains are transferred from the anthers of a flower (or male reproductive structures) to the stigma of a flower (or female receptive structures), enabling fertilization and subsequent seed and fruit development in seed plants. As a reproductive phenomenon, it can occur via abiotic vectors such as wind and water or via biotic agents including insects, birds, and bats. Pollination encompasses both self- and cross-pollination events, and its efficiency and specificity critically influence gene flow, plant fitness, reproductive isolation, and the structure and dynamics of plant–pollinator interaction networks in ecosystems.
From fundamental biological units as tiny as genes to complex societies, ecological systems rely on cooperation. All manner of organisms can benefit from working together to survive in a dog-eat-dog world. "Mutualism is a ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 9, 2026
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41
A soft layer of white snow blankets the grounds of the Chicago Botanic Garden. The air is chilly, the sky gray.
Ecology
Feb 7, 2026
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15
University of Alberta researchers have, for the first time, captured a much better view of what may be contributing to failures in lodgepole pine seed orchards—a tree essential to Alberta's forest industry. The researchers ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 3, 2026
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19
For flowering plants, reproduction is a question of the birds and the bees. Attracting the right pollinator can be a matter of survival—and new research shows how flowers do it is more intriguing than anyone realized, and ...
Evolution
Jan 27, 2026
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46
Lipstick vines get their name from their bright red, tube-shaped flowers. But one member of this group of plants has lost its lipstick-like appearance—its flowers are shorter, wider, and yellowish green in color. It also ...
Evolution
Jan 27, 2026
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85
Flowers emit scented chemicals to attract pollinators, but this perfume—and how pollinators interact with the plant—can go through profound changes as a crop becomes domesticated.
Plants & Animals
Jan 22, 2026
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78
Humans like plants. We like seeing them change the color of their leaves throughout the year. They connect us to nature even if we live in a big city. But most people don't think that much about the lives of plants, and least ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 5, 2026
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29
Harvard researchers have discovered that cycads—one of the oldest living lineages of seed plants—heat up their reproductive organs to attract beetle pollinators and the insects possess infrared sensors to detect these signals.
Evolution
Dec 11, 2025
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51
Being close to a natural habitat such as a forest doesn't necessarily make farmland more attractive to pollinators, a new study shows.
Ecology
Dec 4, 2025
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15
One of the great mysteries in plant biology is how, given the clouds of pollen released by dozens of plant species all at the same time, an individual plant can recognize which particular species' pollen grains will induce ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 21, 2025
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