Tricolpate refers to a subclassification of the "Eudicot" monophyletic group, the "true dicotyledons" (which are distinguished from all other flowering plants by their Tricolpate pollen structure. The number of Pollen grain furrows or pores helps classify the flowering plants, with eudicots having three colpi (tricolpate), and other groups having one sulcus.[1][2]
Pollen apertures are any modification of the wall of the pollen grain. These modifications include thinning, ridges and pores, they serve as an exit for the pollen contents and allow shrinking and swelling of the grain caused by changes in moisture content. The elongated apertues/ furrows in the pollen grain are called colpi (singular colpus) which along with pores, are a chief criteria for the identifying pollen classes.[3]