spring: time for pine pollen

For those allergic to pine pollen (not me this year it seems) now is the time when Pines are shedding their wind distributed reproductive stuff.

This is what a pine flower looks like.

Click the image for a larger version to see more clearly.

Pine trees use wind to distribute their pollen (unlike other plants which depend on insects or other vectors).

I was out for a walk yesterday morning with my wife and I noticed a large cloud of "smoke" move across the path ... hmm ... I thought ... bit early for a BBQ ... I wonder if its pollen release time already.


A quick flick of one of the flowers by my wife showed that yes indeed they were bursting with pollen.

For those who haven't seen pine flowers up close (or their pollen release time) I thought I'd put together this quick sample of what it looks like.

If you click this one you can see the eddy currents in the air as this little flower sprung back up to where it came from.


Hope you like the images