Pollen magnification to see detail. The study of pollen is called palynology and is highly useful in paleoecology, paleontology, archaeology, and forensics. Pollen in plants is used for transferring haploid male genetic material from the anther of a single flower to the stigma of another in cross-pollination. In a case of self-pollination, this process takes place from the anther of a flower to the stigma of the same flower. Pollen itself is not the male gamete. Each pollen grain contains vegetative (non-reproductive) cells (only a single cell in most flowering plants but several in other seed plants) and a generative (reproductive)
Thalassia testudinum flowers open. There are two methods of pollination: hydrophily and biotic pollination. Through hydrophily, the pollen grains are carried through the water column by tides or currents and deposited upon an open pistillateflower. More recent investigation however, has uncovered active biotic pollination.Underwater video cameras have revealed that Crustacean, Polychaete, and Amphipoda swam towards open male flowers. These creatures were attracted to the seagrass’s nutritious mucilage—a carbohydrate-rich substance that houses pollen. As the invertebrates feeds on the mucilage, excess pollen grains stick to their bodies. They move from flower to flower feeding and spreading the pollen from male to female. Seeds