Stigma (botany)

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/stigma-botany

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the physiological role?Facilitates pollen adhesion, hydration, germination, and pollen tube guidance
2. What is the ecological significance?Crucial for sexual reproduction in angiosperms, underpinning food webs and ecosystem stability
3. What is a stigma in a flower?The stigma is the sticky tip of a flower that catches pollen and helps the plant make seeds.
4. Why do some stigmas look big and feathery while others are small and sticky?Big, feathery stigmas catch pollen that comes on the wind, while small, sticky stigmas catch pollen that comes on insects or birds.

Anemophily: Pollination mechanism relying on wind to transfer pollen grains.
Entomophily: Pollination mechanism relying on insects to transfer pollen grains.
Self-incompatibility: A genetic mechanism preventing self-fertilization in plants.