Pollenatlas

species: Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion)
plant family: Asteraceae
at aerobiological analyses usually achieved determination level: Asteraceae, Asteraceae T-shape, Asteraceae Liguliflorae (=Cichoriaceae)

photos: Landesagentur für Umwelt, Bozen (Italy)

description:
outline: very characteristic hexagonal shape
size: 30 (25-35) µm.
apertures: fenestrate pollen with three or four, often scarcely detectable germination openings (pori).
pollen wall: echinate exine, ornamented with large spines enclosing angular lacunae: raising from an echinate disk at the poles, six echinate mouldings draw towards the equator, two of them edging the porus. Exine often coated with yellow oil droplets.
note: similar pollen in further representatives of the Family of Asteraceae (e.g. Senecio…

Pollen of Taraxacum stands here representative for the Asteraceae T-form (=Taraxacum-form): these triporate pollen indicates the Asteraceae liguliflorae (=Cichoriaceae) type.

remarks to the plant:
Dandelion is widespread in grassland on the northern hemisphere, belonging to a pretty variable tribe with a manifold of subspecies. The perennial plant develops a basal rosette of leaves, roughly spoon-shaped in outline and serrate-pinnately lobed with winged stalks. The yellow flower heads on hollow stalks are about 2-5 cm in diameter, composed of solely ray florets, where each ray has a brown or grey stripe beneath. Outer flower bracts are recurved. Flowering time is from spring until autumn.

species: Taxus baccata alba (Yew)
plant family: Taxaceae
at aerobiological analyses usually achieved determination level: Taxaceae, Cupressaceae/Taxaceae group

photos: Landesagentur für Umwelt, Bozen (Italy)

description:
outline: irregularly circular, mostly circular to angular-egg-shaped, sometimes rounded triangular or quadrangular, or elongated elliptical.
size: 24.8 (18.8-30.7) µm
apertures: inaperturate
pollen wall: very thin, gemmate exine, fine nodula of different size irregularly distributed over the surface, conspicuous thick intine (2-9 µm) with star-shaped plasma.
note: The tenuous exine breaks sometimes, liberating the protoplasma. Occasionally the plasma is found detached from the exine in the microscopic slides, but this is more frequently seen in pollen from Cupressaceae. Similar pollen: Juniperus, Cupressus, Thuja, Chamaecyparis.

remarks to the plant:
Yew tree is an evergreen tree or shrub with soft spicular leaves (needles) growing spontaneous on shady, wind protected slopes and in canyons. It is also frequently in use as an ornamental tree or hedge in public gardens and parks. Flowers are set up already in fall, opening in (February) March and April. Male inflorescences appear as small yellow globular aggregates of stamens, protected by dry scales previous to pollination. Female flowers stay single. After fertilization, a marked red torus (arillus) covers the dark brown seed.

species: Thalictrum foetidum (Foetid Meadow-rue)
plant family: Ranunculaceae
at aerobiological analyses usually achieved determination level: Thalictrum, Ranunculaceae

photos: Landesagentur für Umwelt, Bozen (Italy)

description:
outline: rounded, irregularly polygonal
size: polar axis: 19.7 (17-22) µm
apertures: periporate pollen with comparatively wide (about 5 µm) pori in variable number (mostly 8). Margin of the pori indistinctly delimited, membrane inside covered with fine granular exine leftovers.
pollen wall: thin, scabrate exine. The intine forms sometimes flat germination areas.
additional attributes: granular cytoplasma

remarks to the plant:
The glandulous, perennial weed grows in dry meadows, various open habitats, bushland, and rocky slopes in the montane and subalpine level. Leaves are pinnately divided 2 or 3 times. Inflorescences stand in conspicuous globular panicles, revealing numerous stamina that emerge from dense clusters of inconspicuous, yellowish-green or reddish petals. They produce plenty of pollen. Flowering time is June to August. The genus Thalictrum comprises both anemophilous and entomophilous species.

species: Tilia cordata (Small-leaved Lime)
plant family: Tiliaceae
at aerobiological analyses usually achieved determination level: Tilia, Tiliaceae

photos: Landesagentur für Umwelt, Bozen (Italy)

description:
outline: subtriangular in polar view, oval in equatorial view (seldom seen), clearly flattened on the poles (oblate).
size: polar axis: 23.9 (23-25) µm, equatorial axis: 31.9 (30-33) µm
apertures: tricolp(or)ate with narrow, short colpi and faintly visible pori. Margin of the colpi indistinct, characteristic, conspicuous germination areas formed by the thickened endexine.
pollen wall: thin, foveolate exine, thickened in the area around the colpi. Intine thin.

remarks to the plant:
The tall tree grows spontaneous in woods and shrubby slopes in mild climates. It is frequently used as an ornamental and in public greens. Leaves are heart-shaped, they have rusty-reddish hairs only in the vein axis below the leaves. Inflorescences obliquely erect, with 4-12 bisexual greenish-white flowers and a winged bract. They appear after full foliage in June and July.

species: Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan Palm)
plant family: Palmae
at aerobiological analyses usually achieved determination level: Palmae

photos: Landesagentur für Umwelt, Bozen (Italy)

description:
outline: irregular oval
size: polar axis: 22.8 (21-25) µm, equatorial axis: 20.4 (19-22) µm
apertures: monocolpate pollen with a long, wide colpus, which is rounded at its ends
pollen wall: exine reticulate, lumina of the reticulum decrease in size towards the colpus. Intine very thin, thickens in the region of the colpus and is sometimes protruding from the colpus.

remarks to the plant:
Originating from East Asia, the palm has been introduced to Europe in the 19th century as an ornamental. It is comparatively frost resistant and thus cultivated in gardens and parks. Dark green, unevenly divided leaves are split about half-way to the petiole. As a result of not being self-cleaning, the residuals of the old, dead leaves form a skirt around the top of the trunk. The plant is dioeceous and flowers usually in May. Male flowers appear in drooping panicles with small yellow flowers. Females produce globular black-blue berries.

species: Trollius europaeus (Globe-flower)
plant family: Ranunculaceae
at aerobiological analyses usually achieved determination level: Trollius, Ranunculaceae

photos: Landesagentur für Umwelt, Bozen (Italy)

description:
outline: circular
size: 19.6 (18-21) µm
apertures: tricolpate pollen with narrow, long colpi which are rounded at their ends. Membrane of the colpi covered with fine exine remnants.
pollen wall: very thin, striate exine, intine about as thin as the exine
remark: the very fine, striate exine sculpture is only visible at high resolution and magnification of 1000x.

remarks to the plant:
In Europe, there is only one single species of Trollius. It is an erect, tufted, hairless, rrobust perennial, which grows up to 60 cm of height, in damp meadows and pastures, mainly in the uplands. Leaves are palmately lobed, with toothed lobes. Its lemon-yellow flowers are globe-shaped, they are made up of numerous petal-like sepals. Even in full sun at noon, the flowers barely open completely. Insects enter through a small opening above the stigma and exit often entirely coated with pollen. Flowering time is May to July.

species: Typha latifolia (Bulrush)
plant family: Typhaceae
at aerobiological analyses usually achieved determination level: Typhaceae

photos: Landesagentur für Umwelt, Bozen (Italy)

description:
outline: mostly quadrangular or rhomboid tetrade of pollen, monads may sometimes also line up regularly or irregular. All monads be arranged in one layer.
size: tetrad: 40.3 (36-45) x 42.6 (38-47) µm
apertures: monoporate monads with large, circular porus (diameter about 5 µm) placed at the outside. Margin of the porus indistinct. Membrane of the porus sometimes ornamented with granular exine remnants.
pollen wall: exine reticulate, meshes mostly coarse with irregular width. Sometimes it appears to have a tendency to regulate sculpture. The thin intine forms germination zones.

remarks to the plant:
In still water and wet places grows this stout perennial, up to 2.5 m high. The grey-green, very long leaves are set in two distinct rows. The inflorescence is a dense, cylindrical spike with the lower (female) part very stout. Yellow male flowers are on the narrower top of the spike. Flowering time is June and July.