A pollen tube is part of the male gametophyte of seed plants. It acts as a conduit to transport the male gamete cells from the pollen grain, either from the stigma (in flowering plants) to the ovules at the base of the pistil, or directly through ovule tissue in some gymnosperms. In maize, this single cell can grow longer than 12 inches to traverse the length of the pistil.
Pollen tubes were first discovered by Giovanni Battista Amici.
Read more about Pollen Tube: The Pollen Tube in Angiosperms, Pollen Tubes: An Excellent Model, Pollen Tube Guidance
Famous quotes containing the words pollen and/or tube:
“Everything was blamed on Castro. Mudslides in California. The fact that you can’t buy a decent tomato anymore. Was there an exceptionally high pollen count in Massapequa, Long Island, one day? It was Castro, exporting sneezes.”
—Calvin Trillin (b. 1935)
“Even crushed against his brother in the Tube the average Englishman pretends desperately that he is alone.”
—Germaine Greer (b. 1939)