Question

Name the agent of pollination in the following cases
a) Bright coloured flowers with scent and nectar glands.
b) No colour, scent or nectar but pollen grains are dry, lightweight and powdery. Stigma is feathery.
Also, mention the plants in cases (a) and (b).

Answer 1

Hint: Pollination refers to transfer of pollen grains. This brings about fertilisation in plants. Plants can be self-pollinated or require various agents known as – anemophily, hydrophily, entomophily, ornithophily and chiropterophily. It includes both biotic as well as abiotic agents.

Complete answer:
 Let us first begin to know about pollination to understand this question. Pollination refers to the process of transfer of pollen grains from anther and their deposition onto the stigmatic surface of the flower present on the same plant or on different plants. This is also known as cross-pollination.
The various agents involved in the process are –
- Wind in anemophily
- Water in hydrophily
- Insects in entomophily
- Birds in ornithophily
- Bats in chiropterophily

Let us now look at both cases to get a better insight into the question.
In entomophily, insects are the most common pollinators. The flowers producing nectar and fragrance with bright colours attract the insects. The most common insect pollinators are – moths, flies, butterflies, wasp, bees, beetles etc. They include plants like wheat, rice, corn, barley and many more.

In anemophily, the wind-pollinated flowers are generally unisexual, as in coconut palm, date palm, maize, many kinds of grass, cannabis etc. The pollen grains are produced in large quantities and are small, smooth and dry. Wind pollination is not precise, as it involves the movement of pollen over long distances with respect to the direction of the wind. They include plants like – apples, avocados, cucumber and many more.

Note:
- The bees and butterflies commonly pollinate the flowers of the Asteraceae and Labiatae family.
- In some plants like pinus that are wind-pollinated, their pollen grains are winged.
- In the case of self pollinators, the pollen grains are transferred from the anther to the stigma of the same flower.