Features
The stigma is a little like the landing pad for pollen on the flower; it lies atop a stalk called the style. Each pollen grain consists of a spore wall enclosing two cells, a generative cell and a tube cell. After the pollen lands on the stigma, the tube cell produces a pollen tube that grows down through the style into the ovary of the flower.
Function
Meanwhile, the generative cell divides to form two sperm cells. Once the pollen tube has reached the ovary, the sperm cells will travel through the pollen tube to reach the ovule and fertilize the egg. The function of the pollen tube is to facilitate fertilization.
Fun Fact
Pollen tubes can grow very quickly--as rapidly as one centimeter an hour or more. Depending on the length of the style (which varies from one species to another), the pollen tube can swiftly make its way from the stigma into the ovary to ensure fertilization follows soon after pollination.