Open Source Content Management

How Pollen Travels

Pollen Carried by the Wind

Wind-pollinated plants usually have small, drab flowers or no flowers at all since they don't need to attract pollinators. Instead, their strategy is to put out huge quantities of pollen.

Because they're light and so prolific, these are the kinds of pollen that cause allergy symptoms in many people. Common wind-pollinated plants are corn, ragweed, and trees such as maple, birch, willow, and elm.

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A spruce tree releases a large volume of pollen that is carried by the wind.

Animal-Pollinated Plants

Animals such as insects and birds move pollen when they visit a flower and carry the pollen with them to the next plant they visit.

The pollen of insect-pollinated plants is typically heavier and less likely to be blown by the wind, so the pollen grains of those plant species are less likely to be an issue to allergy sufferers; another reason to appreciate bees!

In the video below, you'll learn more about each of the methods of moving pollen for cross-pollination, with a focus on how animals, specifically bees, move pollen.

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Pollen from an apple blossom is transferred from the anther (the yellow at the top of each stamen) to the stigma (the green part) of another plant.