Pollen

[YT2095]

Can anyone explain to me what the function of pollen is in plants? or is it different according to the type of plant?

 

thanx

[Sayonara]

Basically it's a gamete-carrying structure.

 

Think of it as sniffable sperm

[YT2095]

what does it actualy do tho?

 

the reason I ask because I`ve what seem to me, to be 2 seemingly contradictory uses for pollen.

 

1) lets say cannabis Sativa, it has male and female plants, if the male plant pollenates the female, it`ll then give seeds, but if there`s no male plant anywhere, it`ll not seed and become sinsimelia (spanish for without seed).

 

2) I like to grow Chili peppers, they all give a tiny white flower with pollen, but even if you just have 1 plant eventualy the flower dies and then grows a little tiny chili pepper, eventualy they turn red, and have all viable seeds in them that you can plant next year and grow more chilis.

 

that seems to contradict things in a way. why does chili flowers have pollen at all?

[Sayonara]

A lot of species can cross-pollinate, as they have both anthers and stigmata - the pollen-bearing and pollen-receiving structures.

 

"Male" and "female" plants are rare.

 

Not all plants can cross-pollinate, but some do. Those that do are better off fertilising other individual plants in order to increase genetic diversity.

[YT2095]

so Cannabis Sativa is really the odd one out then?

 

I understand what you mean though, as I`m fairly sure tomatoes and even grass (lawn type) will give pollen and still make viable seeds, it does seem to be more common that way around.

 

this may sound a stupid question, but why pollen always yellow?

 

also...

 

could I cross pollenate say a chili with a Bell pepper? the sort on Pizzas? I`de like to grow my own variety of chilli, the ideal would be a large chili thats not MEGA hot, but the same aroma as the MEGA hot sort

[Sayonara]

Cannabis Sativa probably - like many plants - simply won't self pollinate. Can't say I've checked though.

 

Afaik pollen is not always yellow. I would have thought the pollen that is yellow is specifically coloured to attract insects such as bees.

 

Pollen from species that aren't closely related is highly unlikely to do anything when it reaches another flower. However, this doesn't mean you can't make any hybrids through that or another method... so you could give it a try.

[YT2095]

with cannabis, there`s male and female, but on occasion you can hermaphrodites(sp?) but also it`s possible just to pollenate a few "colas" on some branch tips, giving SOME seeds for next year, but also leaving the rest of the plant seedless (strange I know?)

 

I`ll give it a shot next year re: hybribs, the seasons about over now for chilis to flower and I don`t have a greenhouse.

 

I wondered about the pollen color as there`s such a wide variety of different colored flowers even to some that are almost blue (corn flowers for instance) yet all the pollen I`ve seen seems to yellow? wondered if it was some chemical reason for it, I would have thought that maybe red would be a workable color too?

[atinymonkey]

Am I sensing the law being broken? The LAW? Our LAW?

[YT2095]

what? re: cannabis? naaah man, I quite smokin that stuff well over a decade and a half ago

but had used to grow it, and have read loads about it since the internet.

and the only ilegal thing (or should be) about my chilis is the heat