What Is Pollination? A Simple Explanation for Kids

Plants create new seeds and fruits through a process called pollination. This is how plants get help to make new life.

How Flowers Make Seeds

Flowers are like the plant’s special factories for making seeds. Inside, tiny grains called pollen act like the plant’s male cells. Pollen is a fine, powdery substance, often yellow, made in the anther. For a plant to make seeds, this pollen needs to move from the anther to the stigma, which is often sticky.

The stigma is part of the pistil, the flower’s female reproductive part. Once pollen lands on the stigma, it travels down a tube-like structure called the style to reach the ovary. Inside the ovary are tiny ovules, like the plant’s egg cells. When a pollen grain meets an ovule, they join together in a process called fertilization, and this fertilized ovule then grows into a seed. Some flowers, like apples or tomatoes, develop a fruit around these seeds.

Meet the Pollination Helpers

Plants need help moving pollen. Many different creatures and natural forces act as “pollination helpers,” carrying the tiny pollen grains around. Bees are well-known helpers; their fuzzy bodies easily pick up pollen as they collect nectar and pollen for food. As a bee flies from one flower to the next, some pollen rubs off onto the new flower, helping it make seeds.

Butterflies also assist in pollination while they sip nectar using their long, straw-like mouthparts called a proboscis. Pollen sticks to their bodies and proboscis, transferring to other flowers as they visit them. Hummingbirds, with their long, slender bills and tongues, drink nectar from brightly colored flowers. Pollen sticks to their feathers and bodies, which they then carry to the next flower.

Not all pollination helpers are animals; wind also plays a big role for many plants, including grasses and trees. Wind-pollinated plants often produce large amounts of light, dry pollen that the wind can easily carry long distances. These plants usually have small, simple flowers without bright colors or strong smells. Their female parts are often feathery to better catch pollen floating in the air.

Why Pollination is Super Important

Pollination is important for many reasons that affect our daily lives. Much of the food we eat, including fruits, vegetables, and nuts, depends on pollination. Without these helpers, plants like apples, strawberries, and almonds would not produce fruits or seeds. About one in three bites of food we eat relies on pollinators.

Beyond food, pollination supports the growth of plants that provide materials for our clothing, such as cotton. Plants produce oxygen, which is vital for the air we breathe. When pollinators help plants reproduce, they contribute to healthy ecosystems and support diverse plant life, which in turn supports other living things on Earth.