Amaranthaceae Pollen

The Amaranthaceae is a large family of plants, commonly called the pigweed/goosefoot family or the amaranth/chenopod family. In most contemporary systems of plant systematics, the Amaranthaceae also includes plants that were formerly classified in the Chenopodiaceae. Phylogenetic analyses strongly support the combination of the two lineages as one family. Because of the similarity of the pollen grains, these two families had previously been combined in the aerobiology and allergy literature as the Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae pollen. The combined Amaranthaceae consists of approximately 185 genera and over 2,000 species. The plant and flower structures within this group are highly varied, with no single description possible; however, the pollen morphology is consistent within the family.

Pollen in this group cannot be identified to genus level by microscopy. As a result, the pollen is only identified as Amaranthaceae or Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae pollen in air sample analysis. Pollen grains are spherical and periporate with pore numbers ranging from less than 10 to greater than 100.  Pollen size varies from 20 to 35 µm. Pollen grains from plants in this family are found in Tulsa air samples during summer and fall with peak levels in late August to mid-September.