Aperture (botany) Aperture (botany) Apertures are areas on the walls of a pollen grain, where the wall is thinner and/or softer. For germination it is necessary that the pollen tube can reach out from the inside of the pollen grain and transport the sperm to the egg deep down in the pistil. The apertures are the places where the pollen tube is able to break through the (elsewhere very tough) pollen wall. The number and configuration of apertures are often very exactly characteristic of different groups of plants. The biggest class of plant species, the Eudicots, usually have three apertures in each
Medullary ray (botany) also known as vascular rays or pith rays. In this context, the term refers to radial sheets or ribbons extending vertically through the tree across and perpendicular to the growth rings. Also called pith rays or wood rays, these formations of primarily parenchyma cells allow the radial transport of sap and are essential in the process of tylosis. In quartersawn material, where the wood is cut into boards with the growth rings roughly perpendicular to the face of the board, the medullary rays often produce beautiful figure such as silver grain, medullary spots, pith flecks, etc. Medullary ray (botany) Medullary