Anemophily

with male flowers releasing pollen into the wind Features of the wind-pollination syndrome include a lack of scent production, a lack of showy floral parts (resulting in small, inconspicuous flowers), reduced production of nectar, and the production of enormous numbers of pollen grains. This distinguishes them from entomophilous and zoophilous species (whose pollen is spread by insects and vertebrates respectively). Anemophilous pollen grains are smooth, light, and non-sticky, so that they can be transported by air currents. Wind-pollinating plants have no predisposition to attract pollinating organisms. It often accompanies dioecy – the presence of male and female reproductive structures on separate plants. Anemophily is adaptively beneficial because it promotes outcrossing and thus the avoidance of inbreeding depression that can occur due to the expression of recessive deleterious mutations in inbred progeny plants. ==Allergies==

Almost all pollens that are allergens are from anemophilous species. People allergic to the pollen produced by anemophilous plants often have symptoms of hay fever. The nature of how species of Poaceae grasses flower results in an increase in the time that the allergenic pollen circulates through the air, which is not favorable to people who are hypersensitive to it. ==References==