Athena Rayne Anderson

This post was originally published on July 6, 2011, on my blog “Pollinators Info” (no longer online).

I thought it might be helpful to create a glossary of pollination-related terms, so here goes!

Anther: male plant structure on/in which pollen is located.

Bract: structure that typically protects a flower bud as it develops, composed usually of petal-shaped segments. In many plants this structure is green and inconspicuous, but in some it is the primary pollinator attractant. An example is flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), in which the flowers are small and yellow, while the four white parts commonly thought of as petals are actually bracts.

Corbiculum (plural corbiculae): also called a “pollen basket,” this specialized pollen-collecting structure is located on the hind legs of some bees and has a flat surface surrounded by long hairs that help keep the pollen in place. Found only in honey bees (Apis), bumble bees (Bombus), oil-collecting Euglossines, and stingless honey-making bees such as the Melipona and Trigona.

Corolla (plural corollae): name for all the petals of a flower. In relation to pollination ecology, the shape of a corolla determines which pollinators can reach the nectar inside. For instance, a rose has an open corolla that is accessible to all pollinators. A trumpet honeysuckle flower has a tubular-shaped corolla that only visitors with long tongues can reach into.

Corona: a set of extra, showy floral structures that attract pollinators. One example is the stringy-looking parts of a passion flower.

Fertilization: joining of sperm and egg.

Filament: male plant structure on which an anther is located; serves primarily to extend anther away from flower for contact by pollinators, wind, or water.

Flower: plant structure usually consisting of petals, nectaries, and male and/or female parts such as stamens and anthers; adapted to attract pollinators in most species.

Fruit: a plant’s mature ovary, usually adapted to facilitate seed dispersal.

Nectary: plant organ in which nectar is produced and secreted.

Nectar Guide: usually a pattern of colors or shapes on the petals that serve to “point the way” to the nectaries, and past the anthers where visitors will probably pick up pollen.

Ovary: female plant structure containing eggs.

Petal: typically a showy flower structure that serves to attract pollinators in animal-pollinated plants. Usually absent in plants pollinated by wind or water.

Pistil: the floral organ composed of stigma, style, and ovary.

Pollen: transport vessel for plant sperm.

Pollination: transfer of pollen onto a receptive stigma.

Pollinator: animal that moves pollen from an anther to a receptive stigma, facilitating pollination.

Pollinium: a packet of pollen (plural= pollinia).

Scopa (plural scopae): pollen-collecting structure on some bees, usually made of long hairs, and found on the legs (like in carpenter bees) or under the abdomen (like in leaf-cutter bees).

Seed: structure that develops inside an ovary after fertilization, containing nutritious tissue on which a developing embryo is sustained until it produces leaves and can photosynthesize on its own.

Stamen: the floral organ composed of anther and filament.

Stigma: female plant structure on which pollen is received.

Style: female plant structure that connects the stigma to the ovary; through which a pollen tube must grow to reach the ovary.

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