Sycamore pollen grain. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a pollen grain of the sycamore tree (Acer pseudoplatanus). This grain has triangular symmetry, and has a rough outer coating. This coating aids the pollen in its dispersal by helping it stick to the bodies of insects which come to feed on the flowers. When the pollen grain containing the male gametes lands on the stigma (female part) of a sycamore flower, it germinates. A pollen tube grows out of the pollen grain into the stigma, and the male 'nuclei' travel down it towards the ovaries. When an ovule in the ovary is then fertilized, a seed is formed. Magnification: x3,400 at 6x6cm size.

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