This lily's anthers hold golden-brown pollen.
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from one flower's anther (a male organ) to another flower's stigma (a female organ). Pollination typically occurs through wind or animal or self-pollination. Flowers without colorful, fragrant blooms and nectar are typically wind pollinated, and devote energy to producing pollen. Flowers having colorful, fragrant blooms and nectar need to lure pollinators, such as bees and hummingbirds. In their hunt for nectar, insects and other animals transfer pollen among flowers.
Pollination
Pollinators transfer pollen grains to another flower's stigma, the football-shaped tip of a stalk-like tube called a style that sits in a flower's center. The stigma is sticky to trap pollen and contains a chemical which triggers the pollen to grow a long tube. The pollen tube allows the pollen's sperm cells to travel down inside the style to reach the flower's ovary, where the flower's eggs, or ovules, are.
Fertilization
When the male sperm from the pollen grain and the female ovule merge in the ovary, fertilization occurs and the ovule develops into a seed.
Fruit
The Christmas cactus has a pink stigma and style.
After fertilization occurs, the flower withers, its petal fall off and it dies. Only the flower's pistil, which is comprised of the flower's stigma, style and ovary, remains. After a while, the pistil's stigma and style drop off and the ovary enlarges as one or more seeds grow inside of it. The flower's ovary becomes the plant's fruit, which is a structure to enclose and protect a seed or seeds.
Seeds
Seeds contain a tiny embryo plant, which is an immature plant that has the parts of the adult plant, including leaves and a root. North Carolina State University notes that ovules contain endosperm, a tissue that grows after fertilization that provides the plant's embryo with nutrients. When the process of storing nutrients is complete, the outside of the ovule becomes a "seed coat," a hardened covering that protects the plant embryo. Seed coats protect embryo plants against parasites, mechanical injury such as abrasion and, for some seeds, against temperature extremes.
Fruits
A fruit consists of seeds and the ovary wall, which may be fleshy or dry and hard. Although fruits come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, they all have the goals of protecting the seeds and in aiding seed dispersal, such as fleshy-colored fruit that attracts animals who disperse the seeds either by eating and passing the seeds out, or by moving the seeds to other locations on their bodies.
Related posts
Inbreeding has been used to develop the dog breeds we know.The breeding of a mother dog with her son is called inbreeding. This is a term that is not well understood and is often confused with wha...
Hybrid dogs are sometimes called designer dogs.Dog breed hybrids, also called designer dogs, are a first generation mix between two pure bred dogs. Hybrid mixes are usually chosen between similar...
Dog owners can face hefty vet bills when their dog gets sick or injured.When leaving your dog with someone else while you go on vacation, there's always the risk that it will get sick or injured....
The Shasta daisy is a large, showy flower that is easy to grow.Perennial flowers can be an attractive asset in the flower garden. They are flowers that live for more than two years. They bloom in...
Flowers can be an appropriate gift for any occasion.Whether you are looking to plant flowers in your yard, decorate a kitchen table or send a bouquet to someone you love, you will find there are t...
