Pollen comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples. Click on any of the pollen grains in the gallery below and use the zoom tool to explore the amazing shapes and textures of pollen. These images are all from a scanning electron microscope (S.E.M.). We also have a companion story abut pollen and how it is used to solve crimes that you might like to check out.

Acacia berlandieri Guajillo	Amblyolepis setigera Huisache daisy	Brazoria pulcherrima Centerville brazos-mint
Cannibis sativa Marijuana, Hemp	Cardiospermum corindum Faux persil	Claytonia virginica Virginia springbeauty
Ilex opaca American holly	Ipomopsis rubra Standing-cypress	Liquidambar styraciflua Sweetgum
Minuartia drummondii Drummond's stitchwort	Opuntia stricata* Erect pricklypear	Pinus echinata Shortleaf pine
Polygonella americana Southern jointweed	Salix exigua Narrowleaf willow	Sedum nuttallianum Yellow stonecrop

In case you are wondering why there are white lines on each image, they are used to show the size of each pollen grain. Microscopists call these lines scale bars, because they let a person know the size of an object. All the white lines at the bottom of the images are equal to 10 micrometers except Opuntia* which is 25 micrometers.