Forensic PalynologyForensic PalynologyStudy of pollen, spores, and other microscopic
plant parts
Study of pollen, spores, and other microscopic
plant parts
Pollen and Spores
Natures Fingerprints of Plants
Dinoflagellate Algae Fungal spores
Pollen Background
• Pollen is the male cell of flowering/cone bearing plants
• Microscopic• Found on nearly everything
(unknowingly )—Locard’s Principle• Comes in a vast array of shapes,
sizes, aperture openings, & surface textures
Pollen Background• Usually pollen types of different
species within a single genus look similar
Different species of daisies
Pollen Diversity
Hay Fever Pollen
Forget-Me-NotPersian Silk
Tree
Willow Tree
Pine Tree
Pollen Prints• Each location produces
a unique “pollen print” that is often so specific that it can be used to identify that precise location
Kansas Prairie
Texas
LouisianaGeorgia
Uses in forensics…
• Identify the pollen/minerals and determine where they came from and when they occur
• Determine if a body was in a particular place at a certain time
• Season in which crime was committed
Pollen Tells a Story
• For instance, a dead body may be found in the woods, and the clothes may contain pollen that are found in a place other than where the body was found. That indicates that the body was moved.
How to Analyze Pollen
• Using a microscope• Look for characteristics such as
shape, size, surface texture, & aperture
• Compare specimens (from crime scene to suspect, from victim to suspect etc.)
Provides a piece to the Puzzle
• Will probably not be the sole piece of evidence used to convict a person of a crime
• Simply provides a “link”