Pollen grains are an indispensable record of vegetation from the Earth’s past, and provide a unique window into the nature and timing of plant evolution. Pollen grains are also objects of considerable beauty, and their diversity of form has fascinated scientists since Malpighi and Grew first described them in the late 1600’s. In this image Croton hirtus (Euphorbiaceae), Mabea occidentalis (Euphorbiaceae) and Agropyron repens (Poaceae) provide a glimpse of the extraordinary morphological variety of pollen grains. Their shapes and surface textures were revealed using cutting-edge confocal microscopy at the IGB. This work is performed under a collaborative initiative by Mayandi Sivaguru from the IGB microscopy facility, Luke Mander and Surangi Punyasena at the Plant Biology Department.
