Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of
pollination whereby
pollen is distributed by
wind. Unlike
entomophilous and
zoophilous species, whose pollen is spread by
insects and
vertebrates respectively, anemophilous species do not develop scented
flowers, nor do they produce
nectar. Male and female reproductive organs are generally found in separate flowers, the male flowers having a number of long filaments terminating in exposed
stamens, and the female flowers having long,
feather-like
stigmas. Pollen from anemophilous plants tends to be smaller and lighter in weight than pollen from entomophilous ones, with very low nutritional value to insects. However, insects sometimes gather pollen from staminate anemophilous flowers at times when higher
protein pollens from entomophilous flowers are scarce. Also anemophilous pollens may also be inadvertently captured by
bees'
electrostatic field. This may explain why, though bees are not observed to visit
ragweed flowers, its
pollen is often found in
honey made during the ragweed floral bloom. Other flowers that are generally anemophilous are observed to be actively worked by bees, with solitary bees often visiting
grass flowers, and the larger
honeybees and
bumblebees frequently gathering pollen from
corn tassels and other grains.
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