Size-Frequency Characteristics of Abies Fraseri Pollen as Influenced by Different Methods of Preparation
Cain SA. 1944. Size-Frequency Characteristics of Abies Fraseri Pollen as Influenced by Different Methods of Preparation. The American Midland Naturalist. 31(1):232-236
Fresh, mature pollen grains of the southern balsam fir (Abies Fraseri) were prepared by four methods for size-frequency analysis. Treatment with 95 per cent alcohol did not significantly change the grains from the size found in comparable materials merely boiled in water. The widely used acetolysis and KOH methods of preparation of peats for pollen analysis and of "fossilization" of fresh grains, however, result in an apparent grain swelling of 8.5 per cent, which is shown to be statistically significant. Certain fossil Abies pollen grains from buried soils in the South Carolina Piedmont were shown to have size characteristics over one-fourth larger, on the average, than the eastern species of fir, Abies Fraseri and Abies balsamea. The identity of the fossil fir remains unknown.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Cain, Stanley
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- Fraser's Fir (Abies fraseri), Great Smoky Mountains National Park NC TN, Plant Studies, Pollen, Vegetation