Winter Pollen in Oklahoma

The main pollen in Oklahoma atmosphere during the winter is Juniperus ashei (mountain cedar or Ashe juniper) pollen. Populations of this species are found in the Arbuckle Mountains of southern Oklahoma and in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas and southwestern Missouri, but the largest populations occur in central Texas on the Edwards Plateau.

Long-distance transport of J. ashei pollen into the Tulsa atmosphere occurs every winter and the Aerobiology Lab forecasted these incursions from 1998 to 2014. The pollen has also been tracked into London, Ontario in southern Canada.

The photos below show some details of mountain cedars. During pollen release the male cones on the tips of the branches (top left) mature and large clouds of pollen are released into the atmosphere (top right). In areas where dense populations grow, the pollen clouds are extensive and can often be seen with the naked eye, even though the pollen grains themselves are microscopic. J. ashei pollen is spherical (bottom left light microscope view) with a granular surface that can be seen in the scanning electron microscopy photo (bottom right).

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