AT their April meeting, the Minchinhampton Gardening Club welcomed Dr Ferguson to talk about the World of Pollination.
Dr Ferguson had spent many years researching this fantastic microscopic world and had been able to demonstrate that every species of flowering plant produced specifically shaped grains, unlike any other variety of plant.
This fact was extremely important in other fields of research, such as forensic investigations and archaeological exploration - since pollen from each individual type of plant clearly differs from pollen from any other plant, important facts can be established about the location of a crime, for example, or about the types of plants growing centuries ago, simply by studying the pollen present at the scene.
Pollen grains are virtually indestructible and are often found in fossils.
Moreover, pollen is everywhere in such vast quantities that it has an essentially important if unseen effect on the world we live in - not all effects are desirable: think of hay fever, but without it there would be no plants and no food.
Dr Ferguson showed us many photos of amazingly formed and often beautiful pollen grains, enlarged thousands of times.
The next meeting will take place in Minchinhampton school hall on Monday, May 19, when Leila Jackson will speak on the Versatile World of Campanulas.
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