Student Blog Post Assignment #7: Anthers and Stigmas and Styles, Oh My!


These images show that fertilization is underway. The stigma is the receptive tip of the female part of the flower. After pollen lands there, it germinates and forms a pollen tube which grows down through the style to reach the ovary.

Each pollen tube that reaches the ovary delivers one male gamete to fertilize an egg cell and one to fertilize the polar nuclei. In a single ovule, this results in the formation of one seed. Once the embryo and endosperm form, the seed undergoes cell division and growth. This usually takes about 40 to 60 days.