Page 28 - (DK) Flowers

Floating in the wind Blooming unnoticed People who suffer from hay fever are

Grasses have flowers, too, but
their flowers are often small allergic to pollen. They suffer most in
Not all flowers are pollinated and dull. Many are surrounded spring and early summer, when grasses
by green scales, making them
by animals. Instead, some use difficult to spot. Like all wind - release lots of pollen into the air.
the wind. These types of flower pollinated flowers, grasses do
shed their pollen into the air, not need bright petals to Bearded
and the tiny grains are blown attract insects. Their flowers wheat
grow in clusters at the top of
far and wide. Some pollen lands tall stems. Next time you walk

on the ground, some gets in our through a field of long grass, Barley
eyes and noses, and just enough watch out for puffs of pollen
as you brush against them.
lands on other flowers. If you

suffer from hay fever, you may
know all about this.

Stand back!
Stinging nettle flowers shed their Grasses such as this
pollen into the air in a special way. Timothy shed their
When the pollen grains are ripe, pollen into the air, Wild oat
a tiny “explosion” in each flower where it is spread
shoots the pollen into the air.
by the wind.

Afloat in a boat
A few plants use water to move their pollen.
This is Canadian pondweed, a plant that you Like grasses,
might see in fish tanks. lt has two different plantain has tiny
kinds of flower, both on long stalks that reach flowers packed
up to the surface. The male flowers scatter together on top
their pollen over the water. Each pollen grain of a long stem.
drifts until it pollinates a female flower.

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