Skip to Content

The 3D Pollen Project Project ID: 00000C627 Public
93 Media · 35 Specimens · Managed by: Oliver Wilson

Pollen is amazing stuff. Made of sporopollenin, 'the diamond of the plant world', pollen grains are among nature's toughest creations. They can help reconstruct the past, solve crimes, deliver medicines, genetically engineer plants and figure out what's in your honey - and yes, they can give you hayfever too. But because these grains are so small it can be problematic for pollen scientists to showcase their work to others without using microscopes. And even with microscopes it can be difficult to interpret pollen's three-dimensional structure from flat, two-dimensional images. This means that learning pollen identification is often a significant challenge, making use of photos and drawings in a process that has hardly changed for decades. 3D-printing has the potential to transform this, but currently no freely available pollen model files exist. The 3D Pollen Project aims to address this. Led by PhD student Oliver Wilson, the Project is a collaboration between the Universities of Reading and Hull, UK, funded by the University of Reading Teaching and Learning Development Fund, and by Mangorolla CIC and the Wellcome Trust through the I'm A Scientist competition. Using laser scanning confocal microscopy, we are producing accurate, printable 3D models of pollen grains from reference and herbarium material, and making them available online for non-commercial use. We hope they will be of use and interest to scientists, communicators, teachers and the wider public, for outreach, education and research.

View results as:
List Gallery
List of media items in this team
  ID Part Object Taxonomy Type Date Added Publication Status  
000068779 Pollen hlu:ccc:43 Filipendula ulmaria Volumetric Image Series 2019-02-06 Open Download  
000068771 Pollen hlu:ccc:444 Alnus glutinosa Volumetric Image Series 2019-02-06 Open Download  
000068773 Pollen hlu:ccc:4 Centaurea nigra Volumetric Image Series 2019-02-06 Open Download  
000068636 Pollen hlu:ccc:695 Calluna vulgaris Volumetric Image Series 2019-02-05 Open Download  
000068783 Pollen hlu:ccc:61 Leucanthemum vulgare Volumetric Image Series 2019-02-06 Open Download  
000068777 Pollen hlu:ccc:67 Dactylis glomerata Volumetric Image Series 2019-02-06 Open Download  
000068781 Pollen hlu:ccc:174 Scorzoneroides autumnalis Volumetric Image Series 2019-02-06 Open Download  
000068775 Pollen hlu:ccc:413incid Corylus avellana Volumetric Image Series 2019-02-06 Open Download  
000068794 Pollen (dehydrated) hlu:ccc:731 Quercus robur Volumetric Image Series 2019-02-06 Open Download  
000068787 Pollen hlu:ccc:723 Plantago lanceolata Volumetric Image Series 2019-02-06 Open Download  
Number of results to display per page
Showing 31 - 40 of 93