Scanning Electron Microscope Studies of Pollen of Cereals and other Grasses

Various authors disagree about the identification of cereal pollen based on phase contrast studies. Pollen of the common cereals and some wild grasses of a similar size range were examined with a scanning electron microscope. The pollen grains of Hordeum, Secale, Triticum monococcum, Agropyron, Ammophila, Elymus and Glyceria species have a scabrate sculpture of varying coarseness. The pollen of other Triticum species and Avena have an areolate sculpture.