Obturator - Ovule

An obturator is an outgrowth of the placenta or funicle or integument or style near the micropyle. It is presumed to guide the pollen tube to the micropyle. This tissue is either composed of thin-walled compact tissue or it is made up of loose hairy outgrowths. The cells of the obturator at the ultra structural level, show dense cytoplasm containing a copious number of ER, dictyosomes, and vesicles. The cells of the obturator produce a surface exudate and provide mechanical and chemical guidance to the growing pollen tube.

Figure:  Obturator in Tetragonia tetragonioides