Home › P › PROTERANDROUS and PROTANDROUS

PROTERANDROUS and PROTANDROUS

(from the Greek words proteros, sooner, and aner, andros, a male). Words devised, by Delpino and by Hildebrand respectively, to signify that, in a flower which possesses both stamens and pistil, the pollen is ripe before the stigma of the flower is ready to receive it. This is one of the most frequent adaptations to favour cross-fertilisation in plants, since the pollen of a Proterandrous flower is frequently removed by wind or insects before the stigma is ready for its reception; hence, pollen must be brought to the stigma from a younger flower.