PollyMapPlantain pollen photographed through the microscope in the PollyKit lab — verified in Arizona.
About plantain pollen
Weed pollen from English plantain, a lawn and roadside plant with a long flowering season.
Plants that produce it
- English / narrowleaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
- Broadleaf plantain in lawns and paths
- Desert plantain / Indianwheat in the Southwest
How to recognize it
Spherical grain covered with roughly a dozen shallow pores scattered over the surface, each ringed by a thickened rim, with a granular wall between them.
Typical published size: 20–30 µm
Commonly confused with
- Chenopod pollen — more numerous, smaller and more regularly spaced pores
- Grass pollen — only one pore
Allergy relevance
Moderately allergenic, and notable for a long flowering period that stretches symptoms across much of the warm season.
Where it's found
PollyMap has verified specimens of Plantain from Arizona.
Naturalized in every US state.
Also searched as: plantain pollen, plantago pollen, english plantain pollen, ribwort pollen.
Related pollen specimens
Citing this specimen: PollyMap Specimen Library. “Plantain — verified microscope specimen.” pollymap.com/library/specimen/plantain-pollen-arizona-920c0a
Expert discussion
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