Palynological studies of the mainly terrestrial Edmonton Group in Alberta, Canada have been undertaken for the last 64 years. The Edmonton Group is of Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) age and was deposited on the northwestern fringes of the regressing North American inland sea. Satish K. Srivastava initiated the detailed palynological study of the Edmonton Group, publishing many papers on the taxonomy and biostratigraphy of this unit. Subsequent palynological studies have produced significant additional information about the biostratigraphy of these strata. The accumulated data on lithostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy and radiometric dating have allowed for a better understanding of the group. Satish K. Srivastava formalized many species from the Edmonton Group and a list of type specimens is provided together with new curation information. All of the microscope slides have been transferred to the collections of the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Neotypes and lectotypes are herein designated and illustrated for 21 missing original type specimens. Wodehouseia edmontonicola is emended and new combinations are proposed for Expressipollis catterallii, Siberiapollis major and Corrugatisporites verrucosus. The ranges of selected species provide an updated biostratigraphy for the Edmonton Group.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the viability and longevity of the pollen grains of the olive cultivar ‘Picual’, the most extensive and important olive cultivar in the Iberian Peninsula. Over a 3-year period (2007–2009), viability of the pollen grains of 15 ‘Picual’ cultivar trees was measured using the Fluorochromatic Reaction (FCR). These olive trees were distributed along different altitudinal areas of the province of Jaen (southeast Iberian Peninsula). The percentages of viability did not show any geographical variability. In general, the percentage of viability did not vary from one year to another. With an average value of 49%, the viability of the pollen in the cultivar ‘Picual’ could be classified as medium-range. ‘Picual’ pollen grains have the highest viability after 24 hours of anther dehiscence. Viability declines rapidly with time. The longevity of the pollen grains was about seven days. The first three days after anthesis are the most important for fertilisation. A rapid decline in pollen viability may considerably reduce effective fertilisation and could negatively influence fruit production. For this reason, these findings should be considered for the improvement of olive fruit yields.

The organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst Mendicodinium mataschenensis is introduced here as a new species. The taxon derives from lower Tortonian clays from the Mataschen clay pit in Styria, Austria. These deposits formed in Lake Pannon, which was characterized throughout the Late Miocene by its highly endemic and rapidly evolving biota. As most species of Mendicodinium are known from restricted marine and brackish paleoenvironments, its occurrence in Lake Pannon may be considered further evidence for the brackish water conditions prevailing in this lake.

The probable zygnematacean zygospore Tetranguladinium is recorded in Mesozoic strata from southern Scandinavia for the first time. Tetranguladinium, which exhibits morphological similarities to the extant filamentous green alga Mougeotia, occurs in Jurassic-Cretaceous (J/K) boundary (latest Tithonian-Early Berriasian) assemblages from the Vomb Trough, southern Sweden and on the Danish island of Bornholm. The J/K boundary strata of southern Scandinavia were deposited in marginal marine settings, varying from freshwater marshes, lakes and flood plains, to lagoons, shoreface, and shallow marine to fully marine environments. The assemblages containing Tetranguladinium are diverse, consisting of spores and pollen, the colonial green alga Botryococcus, various other zygnematacean zygospores e.g. Ovoidites, Schizosporis and Tetraporina, and rare marine dinoflagellate cysts.

A review of published fossil occurrences of Tetranguladinium reveals that its stratigraphical range extends at least from the Late Guadalupian (Mid Permian) to the Holocene. It has been recorded from Africa (Tanzania), Asia (China, Korea), Australia, northwest Europe (Denmark, Great Britain, Sweden), North America (Canada, USA), and South America (Argentina). Depositional and palaeoclimatological data for the known localities of Tetranguladinium confirm a preference for freshwater settings in a humid warm temperate to subtropical-tropical climate, often with a pronounced dry season. The palaeogeographical positions of all the known Tetranguladinium localities indicate that it is has stayed restricted within narrow belts between 30–40° south and 30–60° north of the palaeoequator since the Late Jurassic.

Palynofacies analysis of surface sediments from the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, was carried out to establish modern analogues for comparison with other Holocene marine records in southern Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. Our results show the dominance of highly degraded translucent phytoclasts, associated with amorphous organic matter (AOM) and palynomorphs, while opaque phytoclasts are poorly represented. The organic constituents indicate the proximity of the continental source area to marine environments, with distances and/or times of relatively short transport. The predominance of translucent phytoclasts associated with pyrite suggests reducing conditions, probably associated with marginal-marine environments. Among the terrestrial palynomorph group, the predominance of Nothofagus pollen reveals the presence of forests along the channel. The high terrestrial organic matter input to the depositional area are consistent with a marginal-marine environment. The aquatic palynomorphs, mainly dinoflagellate cyst's show assemblages characterised by low species diversity and low concentration values. The dominance of Peridiniales over Gonyaulacales suggests inner neritic environments. Comparison with two fossil sections of Mid-Late Holocene age (Albufera Lanushuaia and Río Ovando) shows similar distribution of the total palynological matter.

New evidence is presented on the Triassic—Jurassic boundary in eastern Australia, based on miospore assemblages from three continuously cored drillholes which penetrated the Raceview Formation to Ripley Road succession in the eastern Clarence-Moreton Basin of southeastern Queensland. Evidence for the age of this continental succession is provided by correlation based on the first appearances of five distinctive species. These taxa first appear at or close to the Rhaetian—Hettangian boundary in the marine, ammonite-dated succession of New Zealand and in the lower Ripley Road Sandstone of Queensland. The more gradual introduction of these species in the Queensland succession, as opposed to their near-synchronous appearance in New Zealand, is probably due to their gradual migration into an inland environment in contrast to their origin from a nearshore region in New Zealand. At higher levels the first appearance of intrastriate Classopollis, closely followed by its marked increase in abundance, is regarded as evidence for correlating assemblages from the upper Ripley Road Sandstone in the eastern Clarence-Moreton Basin with the earliest Sinemurian of New Zealand. The views of some previous workers that the Hettangian of eastern Australia is characterised by the appearance of abundant Classopollis must now be modified. From the aspect of biotic change, associated with climate change at the Triassic—Jurassic boundary, this study indicates a rapid local change in New Zealand. A new type of biozone, the Association Zone, is proposed as a type of interval zone. The need for a distinctive biozone to characterise palynofloral assemblages is indicated to allow for the frequent recycling of palynomorphs and also to better define the body of an interval zone. New Early Jurassic miospore zones are proposed for southeastern Queensland. Granamegamonocolpites campbellii sp. nov. is described and one new combination, Anapiculatisporities helidonensis (de Jersey) comb, nov., is proposed. Morphological and stratigraphical evidence is provided for gradualism in the lineage development of intrastructure in Classopollis, from massive (unstructured), to intrapunctate, to intrastriate specimens.

The ancient tell (mound) of Ramat Rahel sits on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It features an impressive residency and palatial garden that flourished during the seventh to fourth centuries BCE, when biblical Judah was under the hegemony of the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian empires. Until recently, the garden's flora has been a mystery, as standard archaeological procedures were unable to retrieve secure archaeobotanical remains. A unique method of extracting fossil pollen from ancient plaster has now enabled researchers to reconstruct the exact vegetation components of this royal Persian garden and for the first time to shed light on the cultural world of the inhabitants of the residence. The plaster layers and garden are dated archaeologically and by Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) methods to the Persian period (fifth to fourth centuries BCE), and produced evidence of importation by the ruling Persian authorities of special and highly valued trees to the garden from remote parts of the empire. The most surprising find, and marking its earliest appearance in the southern Levant, was the citron (Citrus medico), which later acquired a symbolic-religious role in Judaism. Other imported trees found to have been grown in the garden are the cedar, birch and Persian walnut. The pollen evidence of these exotic trees in the Ramat Rahel palatial garden suggests that they were probably brought to flaunt the power of the imperial Persian administration. Native fruit trees and ornamentals that were also grown there include the fig, grape, olive, willow, poplar, myrtle and water lily. The identification of the ancient garden's plant life opens a course for future research into the symbolic role of flora in palatial gardens. It also offers new opportunities for studying the mechanism by which native flora was adopted in a particular geographical area and proliferated by humans across the world.

This article presents the findings obtained from a palynological analysis of ashes contained in mortuary urns excavated in a necropolis in south Sardinia, Cagliari, Italy that dates back to the Roman Imperial age (1st century BC—4th century AD). The pollen content in the urns is mainly referable to the natural environment of the burning site and suggests that local vegetation was from a clearing characterised by dry saline soils. Data suggest that burning rituals were carried out near wet and saline environments, since chenopods (Salsola and Arthrocnemum) are constant elements in the mortuary ashes examined. Cremations would have occurred far away from the settlement areas, probably in local places in the marshy area located to the west and east of the necropolis and the Roman urban settlement. In general, the pollen content of the flowering plants retrieved points to the season when the funeral ceremonies occurred. The presence of charred conifer pollen grains, and the absence of suitable pieces of charred wood, suggests that the funeral pyres were probably built using conifer wood. Through this research, a complementary methodology of investigation in the field of environmental archaeology was tested.

We experimented with the use of lithium heteropolytungstate (LST) as a heavy liquid to concentrate pollen in sediments from a desert paleolake with low pollen abundances. LST is one of several non-toxic heavy liquids based on inorganic tungsten that are replacing an older generation of heavy liquids that are harmful to human health, such as zinc bromide, zinc chloride, and bromoform. Several researchers have reported on the use of sodium heteropolytungstate (SPT) in processing pollen samples, but we found no previous reports of using LST in pollen preparation. For our low-pollen desert samples, we developed a palynological preparation procedure with LST heavy liquid separation that entails fewer chemical treatments and washes than standard protocols to minimize the laboratory destruction or loss of pollen. In the heavy liquid step, we varied centrifuge times and the specific gravity of the LST solution in an effort to extract the most pollen possible. Ultimately our samples proved too pollen-poor to yield countable residues, even under the best circumstances. But our protocols and results can serve as models for experimenting with LST with other sediments.

Small chorate dinoflagellate cysts are common in Upper Cretaceous to Quaternary sedimentary successions around the Antarctic margin. Taxonomic confusion surrounding dinoflagellate cysts and acritarchs of similar morphology throughout the southern high palaeolatitudes has hitherto limited investigation of their palaeoecological significance. This study aims to solve the taxonomic problems, and to allow a new assessment of dinoflagellate cyst acmes. A detailed morphological study of new material from the López de Bertodano Formation of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, is presented. These dinoflagellate cysts are identified as Impletosphaeridium clavus Wrenn & Hart 1988 emend. nov. Their gross morphology and their vast abundances in the James Ross Basin are strongly suggestive of dinoflagellate blooms. This scenario implies similarities to modern dinoflagellate cysts from the polar regions.

Wild host plants are important for tarnished plant bug (TPB — Lygus lineolaris) populations, especially when cultivated crops are not flowering. Knowledge of native habitats is important for managing this insect pest. Although pollen has been used to characterize dispersal and food sources of many insects, it has not been used for TPB. The purpose of this study was to determine if pollen analyses could be used as a tool to determine the non-crop plants associated with TPB. Thirty-eight TPB were collected from light traps set up at two sites near the USDA-ARS research farm at Stoneville, Mississippi on 27 June 2011. Overall, 1183 pollen grains from 79 plant taxa were found in the samples. The pollen recovered was identified to 29 families, 33 genera, and 24 species. Many of the taxa of pollen found, such as Saururus cernuus C. Linnaeus (lizard's tail), Sagittaria, Echinodorus and Carya aquatic (water hickory), occur in wet habitats. From the assemblage of identified pollen grains, TBP from both sites utilized plants from disturbed and/or wet habitats.