How does pollination differ from fertilization in flowering plants?

In flowering plants, pollination and fertilization are distinct but sequential processes essential for sexual reproduction.

Pollination is the physical transfer of pollen grains from the stamen (the male reproductive organ) to the stigma (the receptive surface of the pistil) of a flower. Because plants are sedentary, this transfer typically requires external agents such as wind, water, or animals like insects, birds, and mammals.123

Fertilization is the subsequent biological union of gametes that occurs after pollination. Once pollen lands on the stigma, it germinates and grows a pollen tube down through the pistil to the ovule. Flowering plants undergo a unique process called double fertilization:142
* One sperm cell fuses with the egg cell to form a diploid zygote, which develops into an embryo.14
* The second sperm cell fuses with the two polar nuclei in the central cell to form the endosperm, which provides nutritive tissue for the developing seed.14

In short, pollination is the delivery mechanism, while fertilization is the fusion of genetic material that initiates seed development.13