pollen

[pol-uhn]

noun

1. the fertilizing element of flowering plants, consisting of fine, powdery, yellowish grains or spores, sometimes in masses.

verb (used with object)

1. to pollinate.

Pollen

¹

/ ˈpɒlən /

noun

1. Daniel. 1813–96, New Zealand statesman, born in Ireland: prime minister of New Zealand (1876)

pollen

²

/ pəˈlɪnɪk, ˈpɒlən /

noun

1. a fine powdery substance produced by the anthers of seed-bearing plants, consisting of numerous fine grains containing the male gametes

pollen

1. Powdery grains that contain the male reproductive cells of most plants. In gymnosperms, pollen is produced by male cones or conelike structures. In angiosperms, pollen is produced by the anthers at the end of stamens in flowers. Each pollen grain contains a generative cell, which divides into two nuclei (one of which fertilizes the egg), and a tube cell, which grows into a pollen tube to conduct the generative cell or the nuclei into the ovule. The pollen grain is the male gametophyte generation of seed-bearing plants. In gymnosperms, each pollen grain also contains two sterile cells (called prothallial cells), thought to be remnants of the vegetative tissue of the male gametophyte.

pollen

1. The male sex cells in plants. In flowering plants, pollen is produced in thin filaments in the flower called stamens. (See fertilization and pollination.)

When pollen is carried into the air by the wind, it frequently causes allergic reactions (see allergy) in humans.

Other Word Forms

• pollenless adjective
• pollenlike adjective
• pollinic adjective
• pollinical adjective
• unpollened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pollen¹

1515–25; < New Latin, special use of Latin: fine flour, mill dust

Word History and Origins

Origin of pollen¹

C16: from Latin: powder; compare Greek palē pollen

Example Sentences

Some are large enough to see, such as springtime pollen, while others, like viruses that circulate during flu season, are far too small for the human eye.

Read more on Science Daily

Oatmeal, the once-humble slop of Puritans and heart-healthy dads, now served in ribbed ceramic bowls under a snowfall of hemp hearts and bee pollen.

Read more on Salon

The "highly distinctive, prominent horns" are only on the female bee and may be used as a defence mechanism, to gather pollen or nectar, or to collect materials such as resin for nests.

Read more on BBC

Enthusiasts must carefully manage the breeding process, manually transferring pollen from male flowers over to female ones, and the growth.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Other studies have shown that bees use static forces to gather pollen, flower mites cling to hummingbirds using electrostatic attraction, and ballooning spiders rely on charged silk to drift across long distances.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• antigen 
• dander 
• irritant 
• ragweed