Question

Wind pollinated flowers have
a. Small petals and sticky pollen
b. No petals and light pollen
c. Coloured and large petals with a large pollen
d. Small petals and heavy pollen

Answer 1

Hint: Wind pollination also known as Anemophily is the type of pollination where the pollen is transferred to stigma with the help of wind. Gymnosperms and Poales including grasses, rushes etc are pollinated through anemophily.

Complete answer:
In wind pollination, the wind becomes an abiotic agent of distribution of pollen grains from one plant to the other. This is common among the abiotic agents of pollination which includes water pollination. The pollen grains of the plants which are pollinated through wind are light and non-sticky so that air can easily carry the pollen with it. When the current of wind blows the pollen of some plants travels along the current of the wind and travels from one place to another and gets attached to the stigma of the other plant. The flowers which carry wind pollination do not have petals so that the stamen remain exposed to the air which helps in easy dispersal of pollen along the current of the air.

Flowers have a very large feathery stigma which helps in trapping the pollen present in the air and then the pollination process occurs. Examples of anemophily are maize, sugarcane, etc.

Hence, The correct answer is option (B).

Note: Abiotic pollination uses non-living methods for pollination such as wind, water and rain which help the pollen to travel from anther to stigma of other plants. Biotic pollination includes living agents of pollination like birds, insects, animals which help in transfer of pollen to stigma of other plants.