Related topics: plants · bees

Weevils, long-nosed beetles, are unsung heroes of pollination

Butterflies, bees, and even bats are celebrated as pollinators: creatures that travel from flower to flower to feed, and in the process, help fertilize the plants by spreading pollen. But some of nature's most diverse pollinators ...

How the health of your plants can affect bee pollination

University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers are investigating how farmers and gardeners can best support pollinator species such as bumble bees to help them out during growing season—and find insights on what might be ...

New research finds surprising science behind bumble bee superfood

It's the spines. This is the conclusion of two new papers, led by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, showing that the spiny pollen from plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) both reduces infection ...

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Pollination

Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes (sperm) to where the female gamete(s) are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself. The receptive part of the carpel is called a stigma in the flowers of angiosperms. The receptive part of the gymnosperm ovule is called the micropyle. Pollination is a necessary step in the reproduction of flowering plants, resulting in the production of offspring that are genetically diverse.

The study of pollination brings together many disciplines, such as botany, horticulture, entomology, and ecology. The pollination process as an interaction between flower and vector was first addressed in the 18th century by Christian Konrad Sprengel. It is important in horticulture and agriculture, because fruiting is dependent on fertilisation, which is the end result of pollination.

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