LGP'26 B3- Day 4(pollen)
Jun 05, 2026 • 8:28 PM UTC
India
340x Magnification
Plants
Khushi Baid
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Before this workshop, pollen was some random annoying yellow powder that made people sneeze. And now it feels like microscopic artwork. I never thought that there would be so much inside yellow dust.
Observing pollen grains was probably one of the most fascinating parts of the workshop because every flower had pollen that looked completely different under magnification. Some looked spiky, some looked smooth, and some resembled tiny coffee beans floating in space.
Collecting the pollen itself was quite a challenge. We gently pressed clear tape against the flower’s anthers and transferred the pollen onto the glass slide. Sounds simple, but the grains either clumped together too much or barely transferred at all and what made it harder was since the pollen grains were so small we couldn’t identify if any of them actually came on our sample.
The first sample we observed was that of a sunflower. At 50x, only a few rounded yellow pollen grains could be observed. They appeared scattered and isolated with singular grains visible. At 140x, the grains became much clearer and appeared grouped together. There was a prominent circular shape and yellow colour visible. Then came 340x magnification, and suddenly the pollen looked incredible- i couldn't see the similarity between the pollen we saw under the foldscope and what we saw through our naked eye. The grains showed spiky projections all around their surface. Their cell walls were textured and detailed and I thought that they looked cute, tiny suns— which honestly felt perfect for sunflower pollen. The exine and intine layers became distinguishable and the grains appeared elliptical rather than perfectly circular showing that with further magnification we can understand the sample better.
Next, we observed periwinkle pollen, which looked completely different. I couldn't imagine different flowers having such different pollen types. At 50x, the pollen grains appeared tiny, pale, and clustered together. Unlike sunflower pollen, they were almost colourless and much harder to distinguish and I honestly confused them a lot with the air bubbles and cellotape. At 140x, the grains appeared slightly elliptical and more clearly visible but they still weren't detailed. Their transparency made focusing difficult because the grains blended into the background. At 340x, the pollen grains seemed like a coffee bean with a central ridge visible across the surface. They didn't have the dramatic spikes of sunflower pollen and instead looked smooth and 3D. The exine and intine were distinguishable to some extent, and the grains remained grouped together.
Finally, we observed frangipani pollen. When I first saw the frangipani pollen I was awestruck and personally it was my favourite because of how elegant it looked. At 50x magnification, the grains were too tiny to observe clearly and appeared almost transparent. At 1 40x, the pollen grains became more visible and appeared rounded to elliptical in shape. They still lacked very sharp detail. At 340x magnification, the grains looked like tiny coffee beans with a darkened central ridge running across them. The exine and intine layers became distinguishable, and the pollen appeared smooth, delicate, and highly symmetrical. There was a similarity between the pollen of frangipani and periwinkle especially in the structure.
Something that really amazed me most during these observations was how nature creates such enormous diversity. Something as tiny as pollen can have spikes, ridges, textures, colours, and completely different shapes depending on the flower it comes from. And honestly, the funniest part of the day was watching all of us panic every time the slide shifted slightly because the pollen grains would instantly disappear from view. A slight change in position and suddenly you would be searching for those tiny grains again. These tiny moments however made this experience unforgettable.
Observing pollen grains was probably one of the most fascinating parts of the workshop because every flower had pollen that looked completely different under magnification. Some looked spiky, some looked smooth, and some resembled tiny coffee beans floating in space.
Collecting the pollen itself was quite a challenge. We gently pressed clear tape against the flower’s anthers and transferred the pollen onto the glass slide. Sounds simple, but the grains either clumped together too much or barely transferred at all and what made it harder was since the pollen grains were so small we couldn’t identify if any of them actually came on our sample.
The first sample we observed was that of a sunflower. At 50x, only a few rounded yellow pollen grains could be observed. They appeared scattered and isolated with singular grains visible. At 140x, the grains became much clearer and appeared grouped together. There was a prominent circular shape and yellow colour visible. Then came 340x magnification, and suddenly the pollen looked incredible- i couldn't see the similarity between the pollen we saw under the foldscope and what we saw through our naked eye. The grains showed spiky projections all around their surface. Their cell walls were textured and detailed and I thought that they looked cute, tiny suns— which honestly felt perfect for sunflower pollen. The exine and intine layers became distinguishable and the grains appeared elliptical rather than perfectly circular showing that with further magnification we can understand the sample better.
Next, we observed periwinkle pollen, which looked completely different. I couldn't imagine different flowers having such different pollen types. At 50x, the pollen grains appeared tiny, pale, and clustered together. Unlike sunflower pollen, they were almost colourless and much harder to distinguish and I honestly confused them a lot with the air bubbles and cellotape. At 140x, the grains appeared slightly elliptical and more clearly visible but they still weren't detailed. Their transparency made focusing difficult because the grains blended into the background. At 340x, the pollen grains seemed like a coffee bean with a central ridge visible across the surface. They didn't have the dramatic spikes of sunflower pollen and instead looked smooth and 3D. The exine and intine were distinguishable to some extent, and the grains remained grouped together.
Finally, we observed frangipani pollen. When I first saw the frangipani pollen I was awestruck and personally it was my favourite because of how elegant it looked. At 50x magnification, the grains were too tiny to observe clearly and appeared almost transparent. At 1 40x, the pollen grains became more visible and appeared rounded to elliptical in shape. They still lacked very sharp detail. At 340x magnification, the grains looked like tiny coffee beans with a darkened central ridge running across them. The exine and intine layers became distinguishable, and the pollen appeared smooth, delicate, and highly symmetrical. There was a similarity between the pollen of frangipani and periwinkle especially in the structure.
Something that really amazed me most during these observations was how nature creates such enormous diversity. Something as tiny as pollen can have spikes, ridges, textures, colours, and completely different shapes depending on the flower it comes from. And honestly, the funniest part of the day was watching all of us panic every time the slide shifted slightly because the pollen grains would instantly disappear from view. A slight change in position and suddenly you would be searching for those tiny grains again. These tiny moments however made this experience unforgettable.
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