noun
pollen
PAH-lun/ˈpɑːlən/
Fine powder produced by seed plants that carries male reproductive cells.
Fine yellow pollen coats the flower's anthers.
Etymology
The older meaning “fine flour” supplied an image for the fine, dustlike material produced by flowers. In botany, the word came to name that fertilizing powder.
In context
Pollen is a substance produced by a seed plant appearing as a fine dust. This usually yellowish powder is composed of numerous micro pollen grains, which vary in size, shape, and structure among species.
More examples
- Wind spreads pollen from the pine trees.
- Pollen collects on the parked cars each spring.
- She sneezes when the air is full of pollen.
Forms
pollinate verb — Transfer pollen to enable plant fertilization.
pollination noun — The transfer of pollen for plant reproduction.