pollen

[ pol-uhn ]

noun

1. the fertilizing element of flowering plants, consisting of fine, powdery, yellowish grains or spores, sometimes in masses.

verb (used with object)

1. to pollinate.

pollen

¹

/ pəˈlɪnɪk; ˈpɒlən /

noun

1. a fine powdery substance produced by the anthers of seed-bearing plants, consisting of numerous fine grains containing the male gametes

Pollen

²

/ ˈpɒlən /

noun

1. PollenDaniel18131896MNew ZealandIrishPOLITICS: statesmanPOLITICS: prime minister Daniel. 1813–96, New Zealand statesman, born in Ireland: prime minister of New Zealand (1876)

pollen

/ pŏl′ən /

1. Powdery grains that contain the male reproductive cells of most plants. In gymnosperms, pollen is produced by male cones or conelike structures. In angiosperms, pollen is produced by the anthers at the end of stamens in flowers. Each pollen grain contains a generative cell, which divides into two nuclei (one of which fertilizes the egg), and a tube cell, which grows into a pollen tube to conduct the generative cell or the nuclei into the ovule. The pollen grain is the male gametophyte generation of seed-bearing plants. In gymnosperms, each pollen grain also contains two sterile cells (called prothallial cells), thought to be remnants of the vegetative tissue of the male gametophyte.

pollen

1. The male sex cells in plants. In flowering plants, pollen is produced in thin filaments in the flower called stamens . ( See fertilization and pollination .)

Notes

When pollen is carried into the air by the wind, it frequently causes allergic reactions ( see allergy ) in humans.

Derived Forms

• pollinic, adjective

Other Words From

• pollen·less adjective
• pollen·like adjective
• pol·lin·ic [p, uh, -, lin, -ik], pol·lini·cal adjective
• un·pollened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pollen¹

1515–25; < New Latin, special use of Latin: fine flour, mill dust

Word History and Origins

Origin of pollen¹

C16: from Latin: powder; compare Greek palē pollen

Example Sentences

Hazelnut pollen found in layers dating to about 7000 years ago suggests Indigenous peoples had deliberately brought the hazelnuts north from multiple different locations, then tended and cultivated them here.

From Science Magazine

A team of researchers from the UK and Australia analysed charcoal and pollen contained in ancient mud to determine how Aboriginal Tasmanians shaped their surroundings.

From Science Daily

Some 1600 years after this fire surge, the ratios of types of pollen trapped in the sediment changed, too, suggesting the burning shifted the vegetation.

From Science Magazine

They are essential to ecosystems, and we use them for everything from seeds to oil to pollen to decoration.

From Los Angeles Times

The bees even demand, “Give us your pollen.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• antigen
• dander
• irritant
• ragweed