Anemophily

Definition

Wind-pollinated plants release very large quantities of light, dry, smooth pollen into the air and rely on chance to deliver it. They offer no nectar and generally have inconspicuous flowers, because there is no animal to attract. Grasses, birch, alder, hazel, oak, plane and ragweed are all anemophilous, and between them they account for the overwhelming majority of seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Where the word gets used loosely

This distinction is what defeats the local-honey-for-hay-fever claim. Bees visit insect-pollinated plants and have no reason to visit a grass flower, so the pollen that ends up in honey is largely not the pollen causing the symptoms.

Guide records that discuss this

• How pollination worksPlants cannot move, so they pay something that can. Pollination is a transaction, and understanding it as one explains almost everything about flower shape.