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)
Pollen tube This is a gene level regulation in which gene loci of the gynoecium allow either self pollen to slowly grow, stop growing or burst while faster growth of outcrossed pollen occurs, increasing genetic diversity. The main component is that this step determines which pollen grains are compatible to grow and parts of the style, and female embryo contribute in determining. Using hybrid species and crossing pollen, the interaction with the style and pollen was found to influence growth of the pollen tube based on compatibility. Pollen tube growth begins from when the pollen attaches to the stigma. It is followed