Pollen shower. A cloud of pollen showers down from the cones of the noble fir, Abies procera. The red, male cones produce the yellow, powdery pollen i

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Pollen shower. A cloud of pollen showers down from the cones of the noble fir, Abies procera. The red, male cones produce the yellow, powdery pollen in vast quantities and release it onto the breeze. The wind then carries the pollen to fertilise female cones. The male flowers are situated in the upper parts of the tree, where they are most exposed to the wind. Wind- pollination is a haphazard process and so plants which rely on this form of fertilisation produce vast quantities of pollen. The resulting fine, airborne powder can trigger allergies, known as 'hay fever', in susceptible individuals.

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Size: 4370px × 4381px
Photo credit: © DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: abies, allergy, botany, dispersal, dispersed, fever, fir, hay, hayfever, nature, noble, plant, plants, plum, pollen, pollination, proc, procer, procera, reproduction, reproductive, shower, tree, type, wind, windborne