Owing, however, to the close proximity of stigma and anthers, very slight irregularity in the movements of the visiting insect will cause self-pollination, which may also occur by the dropping of pollen from the anthers of the larger stamens on to the stigma.
Flowers in which the relative position of the organs allows of spontaneous self-pollination may be all alike as regards length of style and stamens (homomorphy or homostyly), or differ in this respect (heteromorphy) the styles (From Strasburger's by permission of Gustav Fischer.) FIG.
In some cases flowers, which open under normal circumstances, remain closed owing to unfavourable circumstances, and self-pollination occurs as in a FIG.
Pollen may be transferred to the stigma of the same flower - self-pollination (or autogamy), or to the stigma of another flower on the same plant or another plant of the same species - crosspollination (or allogamy).
In bisexual or hermaphrodite flowers, that is, those in which both stamens and pistil are present, though self-pollination might seem the obvious course, this is often prevented or hindered by various arrangements which favour cross-pollination.
