Individual Reference Collections

Digitised and un-digitised reference material from individual collections and institutions.

Pollen Catalogue of the British Isles

Bennett, Keith /

An existing digitised collection that has been migrated to the Global Pollen Project. Keith Bennett writes: The catalogue covers pollen and spores of all native pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms of the British Isles, together with pollen of recent introductions (including crop plants) and pollen of a few types found in pre-Holocene mid- to late- Quaternary sediments. I define 'British Isles' as the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the archipelagoes of the Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland, and all offshore islands of these, but not the Channel Islands. For work in a part of the British Isles, it may be possible to reduce this list for local use, and simplify it. For example, at the British Isles scale, we have 'Jasione montana-type' and 'Lobelia'. For work in Shetland, these could be replaced by 'Jasione montana' and Lobelia dortmanna' because the other members of these categories (Wahlenbergia hederacea and Lobelia urens) are extremely unlikely to have occurred. The full list below enables other pollen-analysts to see that these types will arise as geographical subsets of the categories with wider applicability. At the other end of the scale, many of the pollen types listed here are subsets of wider types that would be necessary where a larger flora is being considered. For example, I suggest use of 'Ilex aquifolium' in the British Isles for the category designated 'Ilex-type' by Moore et al. (1989), taking into account the morphological resemblance between pollen of Ilex spp. and North American Nemopanthus spp. If we seek truly cosmopolitan applicability of nomenclature, the result; will be a list of names that would be unnecessarily complex, and meaningless to most palynologists in most places. Nomenclature follows Stace (1991), warts and all (see Bennett et al. 1994), and Flora Europaea (Tutin et al. (1964-1980) for plants not included by Stace (1991). I use these works simply because they are the most recent floras of the region, and not because I necessarily approve (or even understand) the taxonomic principles behind some of the changes from earlier works. Notes on pre-Holocene occurrence are derived largely from Godwin (1975). All reference pollen examined by me is mounted in silicone oil, from a collection given to the Sub-department of Quaternary Research, University of Cambridge, by Prof. A.G. Smith, and all additions to the SDQR reference collection since 1979.

Version 3 published on Wednesday, 18 October 2017

Oxford Botanic Gardens collection

Willis, Kathy / Oxford University Long-Term Ecology Laboratory

A collection of reference material collected at Oxford Botanic from June 2021 onwards.

Version 1 published on Tuesday, 14 February 2023

Mexican Reference Collection

Figueroa Rangel, Dr Blanca Lorena / Universidad de Guadalajara

A reference pollen collection produced using pollen samples from specimens at Zea Herbarium, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara. The slides were created at Oxford Long-Term Ecology Laboratory and a duplicate copy of the collection remains at OxLEL, University of Oxford.

Version 2 published on Monday, 19 March 2018

Pollen Canarias

Nogu?, Sandra / Oxford Long-Term Ecology Laboratory

Pollen from botanical specimens collected and identified in the field. This collection includes many species endemic to the Canary Islands. All samples were collected from the Canary Islands.

Version 2 published on Sunday, 18 March 2018

Galapagos Islands Modern Reference Material

Willis, Kathy / Oxford Long-Term Ecology Laboratory

A reference collection of pollen and spores from vascular plants in the Galapagos Islands, predominantly collected from herbarium specimens. This reference collection was used to support the publication: Froyd, C., Leeuwen, J. F. N. v., Froyd, C. A., Knaap, W. O. v. d., Coffey, E. E., Tye, A., & Willis, K. J. (2008). Fossil Pollen as a Guide to Conservation in the Galapagos. Science, 322(5905), p. 1206. doi:10.1126/science.1163454

Version 2 published on Monday, 30 April 2018

Americas Reference Collection

Willis, Kathy J / Oxford Long-Term Ecology Laboratory

A reference collection of samples from plants native to the Americas

Version 1 published on Monday, 12 November 2018

African Pollen Reference Collection

Willis, Kathy J. / Oxford Long-Term Ecology Laboratory

Reference slides made from herbarium specimens and field samples by members of the Oxford Long-Term Ecology Laboratory between 2004-2007.

Version 5 published on Thursday, 17 October 2019

West Cork Palynology

Lewando, Robin /

A palynological collection, focusing on native Irish plants, designed to 1. aid understanding and appreciation of pollen morphology; and 2. to enable identification in palaeoecological analyses primarily in West Cork.

Version 1 published on Friday, 26 April 2019

OxLEL Mongolian Collection

Willis, Kathy J / Oxford Long-Term Ecology Laboratory

Samples collected in 2004 in Mongolia. Slides were produced in 2004 and digitised in January 2017.

Version 1 published on Wednesday, 11 October 2017

European Reference Collection

Willis, Kathy J / Oxford Long-Term Ecology Laboratory

Species listed in the Flora Europaea sampled from herbaria collections and living plants.

Version 5 published on Thursday, 17 October 2019

What are these collections?

Pollen and spore reference material is commonly organised in phyiscal reference collections, of drawers of individual glass slides. We hold records of such collections, important information about their manufacture, and whether they have been digitised into the Global Pollen Project.