With our warm weather, the pine trees have already started producing huge amounts of pollen, covering cars, patio furniture, and roads. Why do they produce so much pollen?
Answer:
Plants that are pollinated by insects do not have to produce large quantities of pollen, but pine trees are pollinated by the wind. The tree has to produce enough pollen so that some of it will be blown onto the cones of another tree, which means that a LOT of it winds up on the ground instead.
While the pollen is very visible, it does not usually cause an allergic reaction. Since you see the pine pollen, you blame it, but other plants that produce finer grained, more allergenic pollen are usually the actual culprits. Unless your allergy test comes back positive for pine pollen, you may be blaming the wrong plant.
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