The Pollen

We are familiar with pollen grains. We know that they help the plants to reproduce. It is even called an agent of pollination. But how it really works closely? Pollen is a powdery-looking substance. It is often presents to the flowering plants. Pollen usually serves as a means of reproduction among the plants specifically those that are considered flowering plants. If you look at the center of a mature flower, you would always find its reproductive organ. The first thing you could see is the pistil (female organ). The one that surrounds it is the stamen (which is the male organ). At the end of the stamen, you will see is the anthers. It is like a bag that contains pollen. Touch the anthers and you will find some of the pollen sticking to your finger. Flowers, attractive as they are as a part of a plant, invite bees and insects to come and drink their nectar. As they come in contact with the flower, both their legs and furry bodies touch with the pollen. The result, pollen sticks to them. Now, what compose of pollen that it makes stick to any object that comes contact with it? If you examine the pollen under the microscope, you will understand why it sticks to every thing it touches. The surfaces of the grains are cleverly designed to make them cling. Some flower pollens have burrs; others may be ridged or spiked.

The Seeds

After the pollination, the flower fades. On the other hand, the fruit, which contains seed, develops inside the pistil. Usually after the fruit has been picked and eaten, the seed is dropped. By chance, it may enter the soil and start a new plant. If you observed this scenario under the microscope, you will find that inside seed a new plant, waiting to emerge. For example, get a maple seed or lima beans. Soak their dry seeds in water overnight or put them on a bed of wet cotton and wait till they start to sprout. You can open the softened seed with a needle and lay it down flat on a slide for observation.

The Spores

There are plants that do not contain flowers or seeds. They do not have pollen to start their reproduction. The exact example of this type of plants is the ferns. But how do they reproduce? They have spores. The spores are the reproductive bodies of these non-flowering plants. Spores drop from the plants the minute they are ripe and then, they would create another plant again. That is how they reproduce.

Plants that have Spores

The ferns are considered non-flowering plants and they are interesting to observe under the microscope. Generally, ferns grow in moist, shady places and can also grow in pot. The back of the fronds, the leaves of ferns, you would find that it is composed of a regular pattern of usually brown dots on the lower side. These are the spores.Take note that the particular frond depends on what season you picked them. For instance, try to pick a frond during early summer and place it between a slide and a cover slip. Under the microscope, you will notice that the cluster of spores resembles orange and brown grapes. Later, these spores will turn like thick, ropy coils of dark rings. As the coils finally open up, closely packed brown spores begin to spill out and thus, a new plant will start where the spores fall.