Style

What is Style

Style is a part of the female reproductive structure of a flowering plant. It forms the gynoecium or pistil, the flower’s female reproductive organ, along with two other structures, the stigma, and ovary. Style is a long, slender stalk that connects the stigma and the ovary.

During pollination, the pollen grains first fall on the stigma, where they get germinated. Next, the secretions from stigma direct the pollen to grow a tube through the style called a pollen tube, which eventually leads to the ovary.

Function

Carries the pollen from the stigma to the ovary via pollen tube.
Acts as a buffer against pollen contamination by checking pollen compatibility. When the pollen tube starts to extend within the style, genetic information gets exchanged between the pollen and the plant. If the pollen belongs to different species, the style releases toxin to stop the growth of the pollen tube. If the pollen is compatible, the plant will sequester, or isolate, the toxin so that it does not stop the growth of the pollen tube.