Pollen and pollination

Research on pollen now reaches into many interdisciplinary fields. Scientists use pollen identification to reconstruct past vegetation, climates and the plant diversity of earlier periods, and to study the pollen-pollinator relationship. Investigations of pollen form, size and internal structure matter both to basic science, such as plant taxonomy and evolution, and to applied work like plant breeding. In pollination research, pollen is often analysed to determine what visitors have eaten and to trace the routes they follow while foraging.

Less attention has gone to how pollen is gathered and how its structure and contents relate to its function. The development of anthers as they ripen, along with the architecture of the mature pollen wall, is central to how pollen disperses whether it is carried by animals or by wind and water. The text is a collection of articles, so some overlap, a few may conflict, and several reflect the author's own views and experience. Readers wanting more depth on a given point are directed to the references at the end of each article.