Pollination
/pol-ih-NAY-shun/🌸 Flower Parts● Basic
Also known as: cross-pollination, self-pollination
The process by which pollen grains are transported from the male anther to the female stigma of a flower, enabling sexual reproduction. Pollination can be mediated by wind (anemophily), insects (entomophily), birds (ornithophily), bats, water, or gravity. Self-pollination occurs within the same flower or plant; cross-pollination transfers pollen between different individuals. Many food crops depend on insect pollination.
Etymology
Latin pollen (fine flour, dust) + -ation (process)
Example
“Bees are the most important pollinators of fruit trees, visiting flowers to collect nectar and transferring pollen in the process.”