ABSTRACT
Email: pvonader@uvic.ca 2 Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 125 Arborway, Boston, MA 02130-3500, United
States of America. * Corresponding author
Pollen released from male cones of gymnosperms is delivered to ovules either by the wind (anemophily) or by insects (entomophily). From this moment until fertilization, pollen will have many interactions with the ovule. The capture of pollen, that will eventually produce sperm for fertilization, is described as a Pollination Mechanism. Pollination mechanisms are diverse among the extant lineages of both anemophilous and entomophilous gymnosperms. The variation in the structure of pollen and ovules are considered to be reproductive adaptations (Tomlinson et al. 1997; Doyle 2013). There is also a signifi cant diversity in biochemical constituents of liquids associated with pollination capture, e.g., pollination drops (Fig. 1; Gelbart and von Aderkas 2002).
