Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

pollen tube

American  

noun

Botany.
  1. the protoplasmic tube that is extruded from a germinating pollen grain and grows toward the ovule.


pollen tube British  

noun

  1. a hollow tubular outgrowth that develops from a pollen grain after pollination, grows down the style to the ovule, and conveys male gametes to the egg cell

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pollen tube Scientific  
  1. The slender tube that is formed after pollination by division of the tube cell in a pollen grain. The pollen tube penetrates the ovule and releases the male gametes.


Etymology

Origin of pollen tube

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In the process of plant reproduction, when a pollen grain that transports male gametes lands on the stigma of another flower, it initiates the formation of a pollen tube.

From Science Daily May 21, 2024

This signal was emitted upon attracting a pollen tube, discouraging the further attraction of additional pollen tubes.

From Science Daily May 21, 2024

The reason is that the pollen tube in these plants grows incorrectly, which keeps fertilization from taking place.

From Science Daily Apr. 16, 2024

When a pollen grain reaches the stigma, a pollen tube extends from the grain, grows down the style, and enters through the micropyle: an opening in the integuments of the ovule.

From Textbooks Jan. 1, 2015

Pollen was assumed to have germinated if the length of the pollen tube exceeded the diameter of the pollen grain.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Thirty-Fourth Annual Report 1943 by Northern Nut Growers Association

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training