Pollen

Pollen is the fine, rough, yellow powder which contains the gametophytes of the seed plants: angiosperms and gymnosperms. The pollen grains, or male gametophytes, develop from the haploid spores, which are produced from the sporangia of pollen cones on a gymnosperm. In an angiosperm, such as in the one shown, the haploid spores in the anthers develop into pollen grains, or the male gametophytes. When pollination occurs, the pollen germinates and produces a pollen tube that is used to transfer the sperm to the ovule. Pollen can be passively carried by external forces in nature, such as animals or wind.