Pollinium, or plural pollinia, is a coherent mass of pollen grains. Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of microgametophytes ( pollen grains) which produce the male Gametes (sperm cells of

They are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit. The stamen ( Plural stamina or stamens, from Latin stamen meaning "thread of the warp " is the male This is regularly seen in various plants, such as orchids and many species of milkweeds (Asclepiadoideae). According to APG II, the Asclepiadaceae is a former Plant family now treated as a subfamily (subfamily Asclepiadoideae) in the Apocynaceae

Most orchids have waxy pollinia. These are connected to one or two elongate stipes, which in turn are attached to the sticky viscidium.

Some orchid genera have mealy pollinia. These are tapering into a caudicle (stalk), attached to the viscidium. They extend into the middle section of the column. The column, or technically the gynostemium, is a reproductive structure that can be found in several plant families Aristolochiaceae, Orchidaceae, and

The combination of pollinia, caudicles, stipes and viscidium form the pollinarium. In Botany, a stipe is a supportive structure that may be the stem-like part of the thallus of a Seaweed or a true leaf stem as in Ferns

The waxy pollinia of a Phalaenopsis

Pollinia of a Phalaenopsis orchid

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic