Abstract
THE study of pollen has come much to the fore during recent years. The pollen analysis of peat has become one of the most important techniques used in the study of post-glacial vegetation. Partly in view of the necessity of studying such geological data in terms of processes now in operation and partly in order to obtain information relating to plant allergens, research is now being directed toward fundamental problems relating to the liberation, dispersal and deposition of air-borne pollen. The results will have obvious implications in the field of floral biology and should also be of value to the meteorologist. The pollen of insect flowers is receiving attention as a means of determining the source of samples of honey. All the above studies have, up to the present, been referred to under the general heading of pollen analysis. The need for a better name has been expressed in Pollen Analysis Circular, a cyclostyled research bulletin edited by Prof. Paul B. Sears, of Oberlin College, Ohio. Messrs. H. A. Hyde and D. A. Williams, of the National Museum of Wales and Llandough Hospital, Cardiff, respectively, in the October issue of that Circular suggest the term palynology (Gk. παλύνω (paluno), to strew or sprinkle; cf. πάλη (palē), fine meal; cognate with Latin pollen, flour, dust) for the study of pollen and other spores and their dispersal, and applications thereof. It is hoped that the sequence of consonants p-l-n (suggesting pollen, but with a difference) and the general euphony of the new word will commend it.
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Studies on Pollen Analysis. Nature 155, 264 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/155264c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/155264c0