Pollen cell. In flowering plants the vegetative tube cell produces the pollen tube, and the generative cell divides to form the two sperm cells. Pollen is produced in the microsporangia in the male cone of a conifer or other gymnosperm or in the anthers of an angiosperm flower. Pollen grains come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and surface markings characteristic of the species (see electron micrograph, right). Pollen grains of pines, firs, and spruces are winged. The smallest pollen grain, that of the forget-me-not ("Myosotis" spp.), is around 6 µm (0.006 mm) in diameter. Wind-borne pollen grains can be
Compartmentalization of decay in trees compartmentalization. According to CODIT, when a tree is wounded cells undergo changes to form "walls" around the wound, slowing or preventing the spread of disease and decay to the rest of the tree. By increasing understanding of how trees respond to decay, CODIT has had many applications. For example, arborists are frequently called upon to analyze the danger posed to people or property by a damaged or decaying tree. By knowing how decay is likely to spread, such hazard tree analyses may be more accurate, thereby preventing unnecessary tree removal, property damage, or injury. For another example, in the production