What does "fertilization" mean?

Fertilization: (Biol.) The act of fecundating or impregnating animal or vegetable germs; esp., the process by which in flowers the pollen renders the ovule fertile, or an analogous process in flowerless plants; fecundation; impregnation. Close fertilization (Bot.), the fertilization of pistils by pollen derived from the stamens of the same blossom. -- Cross fertilization, fertilization by pollen from some other blossom. See under Cross, a.