May 1st, 2010 | Leave a comment below

Ranunculus (Buttercup) pollen

Ranunculus repens pollen in dark field

Ranunculus repens pollen in bright field

Ranunculus repens

Spring time is pollen time! Here are two images of Ranunculus repens (the Creeping Buttercup or Creeping Crowfoot) pollen, the top one in dark field, the bottom one in bright field. This plant is poisonous and can cause skin irritation. The name “Crowfoot” comes from the shape of the leaves, which resemble the claws of a crow.

Now a few words concerning sample preparation. The pollen was collected by dusting the flower over a microscopic glass slide. The pollen was briefly dried in open air (about 1 hour) and then permanently mounted in Euparal mounting medium. The standard mounting medium for pollen is Glycerin gelatin, which is water based. I assume that the drying and the Euparal caused the pollen to shrink somewhat, but I yet have to make a comparison with fresh pollen.