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
Daniel Pollen May 1846, Pollen married Jane Henderson, the daughter of an officer of the Royal Navy (Lieutenant Essex, RN, of Demarara). He moved with her to Kawau Island in 1847, after becoming medical officer to a Scottish copper-mining company. Pollen spent several years on Kawau, during which time he began to contribute articles to "The New Zealander" supporting the agitation for responsible government. He was also to the fore in supporting temperance, scientific, and library movements there. When the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 became law, Pollen was made chief clerk in the Auckland Superintendent's office. From there, he rose through