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Sulphur Showers

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Sulphur showers are the showers of pollen that occurs during spring, as pollen grains are released and carried by wind to cones[1]. Named for its sulphur-yellow appearance, its pollen clouds blow in the wind and blanket the ground, yet despite its namesake it does not contain sulphur, as previously thought[2].

Pollen from a pine tree.

Wind Pollination

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Sulphur showers are a phenomenon related to reproduction in pines. Pines rely on wind pollination (anemophily) to distribute large amounts of pollen to the female stigma[3]. Pines are the naked seed-bearing plants, belonging to the group Gymnosperms. Since the pines bear cones, they are called conifers. Pines have leaves in the form of needles. The cones are of two types, seed cones (female) and pollen cones (male) on the same plant. Seed cones are larger and pollen cones are smaller.[3] As the pollen cones mature, they discharge large quantities of pollen grains into the air and it appears as a yellow cloud of yellow pollen grains[1].

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sulphur Shower". Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster.
  2. ^ Carpenter, P. Herbert (1879). "Letters to the Editor". Nature. XX: 195.
  3. ^ a b Abrol, D. P. (2012). Pollination Biology: Biodiversity Conservation and Agricultural Production. Springer. pp. 38–45. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-1942-2.