In nature, wind, insects, birds or mammals accomplish the task. Plant breeders or home gardeners can hand pollinate or artificially pollinate plants. Although pollination is one of the steps necessary for fruit and seed development, fertilization is also necessary. The two terms are often confused and should be distinguished from each other because fertilization does not always follow pollination. Plants display many wonderful adaptations and mechanisms developed for the purpose of aiding pollination.
Some species are entirely dependent upon bees and other insects for the transfer of pollen.
Their flowers often possess special features that attract insects like color, odor, and nectar. Some plants are dependent upon mammals like bats or hummingbirds. Still others depend on the wind for pollen transfer. Imagine pollen floating for hundreds of miles on the wind currents of the upper atmosphere before reaching a receptive stigma. These flowers are called self-pollinated.