pollen tube

noun

, Botany.

1. the protoplasmic tube that is extruded from a germinating pollen grain and grows toward the ovule.

pollen tube

noun

1. a hollow tubular outgrowth that develops from a pollen grain after pollination, grows down the style to the ovule, and conveys male gametes to the egg cell

pollen tube

1. The slender tube that is formed after pollination by division of the tube cell in a pollen grain. The pollen tube penetrates the ovule and releases the male gametes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pollen tube¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

In the process of plant reproduction, when a pollen grain that transports male gametes lands on the stigma of another flower, it initiates the formation of a pollen tube.

From Science Daily

The reason is that the pollen tube in these plants grows incorrectly, which keeps fertilization from taking place.

From Science Daily

When the bubbles popped, the pollen landed on the pistil, the female reproductive part, and the grains grew pollen tubes.

From Science Magazine

In addition, eH2O2 signals regulate the polarized growth of pollen tubes and root hairs6, and control the opening and closing of stomata3 — pores on the outer layer of the leaf formed by two guard cells.

From Nature

Their petals flare out at the tip to form a star, out of which a single spindly pollen tube protrudes.

From The New Yorker