Pollen calendar explained

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]}

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."

See also

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

External links

• United States pollen calendars (Does not lead to any pollen calendars)
• Pollen calendar for the UK created by the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit at the University of Worcester
• New Zealand allergy pages and New Zealand pollen calendar (printable PDF)
• Australian pollen calendar (printable PDF)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Pollen calendar. https://web.archive.org/web/20150226192052/http://www.foodallergens.info/Facts/Pollen%26Food/Calendar.html. live. February 26, 2015. Food Allergy Information. February 22, 2010.
2. Web site: HON Allergy Glossary, World Pollen Calendar. https://web.archive.org/web/20170528151605/https://www.hon.ch/Library/Theme/Allergy/Glossary/calendar.html. live. May 28, 2017. Health On the Net Foundation.
3. Web site: Pollen Calendar. https://web.archive.org/web/20080516092959/http://www.pollenuk.co.uk/aero/pm/calendar.html. dead. May 16, 2008. National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit (UK).
4. E. Montali, A. Mercuri, G. Trevisan Grandi, and C. Accorsi. "Towards a 'crime pollen calendar'—Pollen analysis on corpses throughout one year." Forensic Science International, Volume 163, Issue 3, pp. 211–223. Abstract found at ScienceDirect website. Accessed February 22, 2010. .
5. Ray Palmer. "THE FORENSIC EXAMINATION OF FIBRES – A Review: 2004 to 2007." Interpol paper, p. 80. Found at Interpol website (PDF). Accessed February 22, 2010. .
6. D.C. Mildenhall, P.E.J. Wiltshire, and V.M. Bryant. "Editorial: Forensic palynology." Forensic Science International, Volume 163 (2006), pp. 161–162. Found at Texas A & M University website (PDF). Accessed February 23, 2010.
7. Patricia E. J. Wiltshire. "Forensic Ecology, Botany, and Palynology: Some Aspects of Their Role in Criminal Investigation," in Criminal and Environmental Soil Forensics (Springer Netherlands 2009), pp. 129–149. (print), 978-1-4020-9204-6 (online). Found at SpringerLink website. Accessed February 23, 2010. .