Palynomorph
Definition
Any acid-resistant microscopic organic particle recovered by palynological processing, including pollen grains, spores, dinoflagellate cysts, and fungal spores. Each type carries different environmental and provenance information.
- Category
- Acid-resistant microscopic organic particle
- Examples
- Pollen, spores, dinoflagellate cysts, fungal spores
- Recovery method
- Palynological acid processing
- Forensic use
- Environmental and provenance profiling
Common questions
Why does an examiner care about the mix of palynomorph types rather than just pollen alone?+
Fungal spores and dinoflagellate cysts can indicate a different environment, such as standing water or a marine setting, than the surrounding vegetation implied by pollen alone, so the full assemblage gives a more precise location or season signature than any single particle type.
What makes palynomorphs survive processing that destroys other organic evidence?+
Their outer wall is built from sporopollenin or comparable resistant biopolymers, which withstand the strong acid treatment used to strip away surrounding mineral and organic matter during recovery, letting them be concentrated and examined intact.
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