The exposed, yellow anthers are the pollen-bearing structures of the bluestem flower Palynology is the study of pollen. Scientists at the Illinois State Museum study fossil pollen that has been preserved in peats and lake sediments. Pollen preserves best if the sedimentary environment lacks oxygen or is acidic, conditions unfavorable for the organisms that decompose pollen.
Fossil pollen is an important kind of data for reconstructing past vegetation.
Because vegetation is sensitive to climate, fossil pollen is a very important kind of proxy data for reconstructing past climates. Most plants are either insect pollinated or wind pollinated. In insect pollinated plants, insects, especially bees, transport pollen from one flower to the other. Because the insect vector of pollen transport is highly efficient, insect pollinated plants produce relatively less pollen and little of this pollen is released into the air. On the other hand, wind-pollinated plants produce large amounts of pollen because the probability is small that an individual pollen grain will actually land on another flower of the same species.