Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male reproductive organs to the female reproductive organs of a plant, and it precedes fertilization, the fusion of the male and the female sex cells. Pollination occurs in seed-producing plants, but not in the more primitive spore-producing plants, such as ferns and mosses. In plants such as pines, firs, and spruces (the gymnosperms), pollen is transferred from the male cone to the female cone. In flowering plants (the angiosperms), pollen is transferred from the flower's stamen (male organ) to the pistil (female organ). Many species of angiosperms have evolved elaborate structures or mechanisms to facilitate pollination of their flowers.

The Austrian monk and botanist Johann Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) conducted important pollination studies in Brno (now in the Czech Republic) in the mid-1800s. He studied heredity by performing controlled cross-pollinations of pea plants, thereby laying the foundation for the study...