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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.

Further analysis showed the complexity of the one-to-one pollen tube guidance process, revealing anintricate regulatory mechanism that requires the involvement of various cells in both male and female plants.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

One-to-one pollen tube guidance is a critical process in plant reproduction that involves precise navigation of pollen tubes to individual ovules.

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

The micropyle allows the pollen tube to enter the female gametophyte for fertilization.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Inside the ovary are little bodies called the ovules that are moistened by a fluid that comes from this delicate pollen tube, and at once they begin to enlarge and eventually become the seeds.

From Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study by Ontario. Ministry of Education