pollen tube
- noun
- /ˈpɒlən tuːb/
- Specialized
:
tubo polínico
- The genotype having the ability to produce a higher number of viable pollens developed a pollen tube that is responsible for successful fertilization under heat-stressed conditions, which resulted in a greater number of bolls per plant.
Examples
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After landing on the stigma, the pollen tube begins to grow towards the ovule.
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It depends upon the ovule's longevity as well as on the growth speed of the pollen tube.
Academic text (2014) -
Subsequently, the generative cell within the vegetative cell divides into two sperm cells before or after the germination of the pollen tube.
Academic text (2018) -
The pollen tube extends from the pollen grain to transport sperm to the ovule for fertilization.
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During fertilization, the pollen tube connects with the ovule, allowing the sperm cells to enter.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'pollen tube' is transparently built from 'pollen' (male flower powder) + 'tube' (a hollow cylindrical structure), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a tubular structure associated with pollen. Although botanical and somewhat technical, the relation is literal and cross-linguistically common, making the meaning predictable to a B1 learner with the constituent vocabulary.
Etymology
The noun pollen tube gives a clear image: a tiny tube grows from a grain of pollen and carries the flower's male cells down to the ovule, the part that becomes a seed. So, it means the thin structure that delivers those cells for 'fertilization'.
