What Part of a Flower Holds the Pollen?
The two main reproductive parts of most flowers are the male part or the stamen and the female part or the pistil. Within the stamen there are anthers and filaments. Anthers are the pollen carriers, while filaments hold up the anthers. Does this Spark an idea?
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Female Parts
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Pollen needs to be transferred to the ovary for seed production to occur. The pistil is made up of the stigma, style and ovary. Pollen is transferred to the sticky surface of the pistil, travels down through the style tube and enters the ovary that houses the ovule where seeds are created.
Pollination
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To move pollen from the anthers to the pistil a carrier is needed. Fragrant or colorful petals help attract bees and other insects that carry pollen on their body to the pistil. The University of Illinois website points out that there are also night-blooming flowers that depend on bats for pollination.
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Other Pollination Methods
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Other methods of pollen transfer include hand pollination, wind or animals brushing up against flowers. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden website, flowers that don't rely on their beauty or fragrance to attract pollinators usually have longer stamens and pistils that allow the wind or animals to carry their pollen.
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References
- Photo Credit Bee image by Tamas Majer from Fotolia.com
