Cross-pollination

wind pollination

cross-pollination, also called heterogamy, type of pollination in which sperm-laden pollen grains are transferred from the cones or flowers of one plant to egg-bearing cones or flowers of another.Cross-pollination is found in both angiosperms (flowering plants) and gymnosperms (cone-bearing plants) and facilitates cross-fertilization and outbreeding. This movement of pollen may occur by wind, as in conifers, or via symbiotic relationships with various animals (e.g., bees and certain birds and bats) that carry pollen from plant to plant while feeding on nectar.