The style is a part of the female reproductive structure of a flowering plant, forming the gynoecium or pistil, along with the stigma and ovary. It is a long, slender stalk that connects the stigma and the ovary. During pollination, the pollen grains first fall on the stigma, where they get germinated. Next, the secretions from stigma direct the pollen to grow a tube through the style called a pollen tube, which eventually leads to the ovary. The style carries the pollen from the stigma to the ovary via the pollen tube and acts as a buffer against pollen contamination by checking pollen compatibility. When the pollen tube starts to extend within the style, genetic information gets exchanged between the pollen and the plant. If the pollen belongs to different species, the style releases toxin to stop the growth of the pollen tube. If the pollen is compatible, the plant will sequester, or isolate, the toxin so that it does not stop the growth of the pollen tube.