Pollen calendar

A pollen calendar is used to show the peak pollen times for different types of plant pollen, which causes allergic reactions in certain people.^[1][2][3]

Approximation of a pollen calendar (in French), showing the rise and fall of pollen from different plants over the year

In forensics

A pollen calendar can be a very useful tool in forensic science, because it can be used to place the month, or week, or date of death.^[4][5] The use of pollen for criminal investigation purposes is called "forensic palynology".^[6][4]

However, the use of a pollen calendar to set the date of death should be used with extreme caution, and only by a carefully trained expert witness.^[7] The CSI effect has put pressure on some police officers and district attorneys to provide pollen-based evidence, but such evidence "appear[s] to be of limited use in the forensic context where outcomes are scrutinised in court."^[7]

See also

• Aeroallergen
• National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit
• Hay fever