Abstract
The content of <em>Aesculus </em>pollen in aeroplankton of Lublin, located in central-eastern Poland, was studied during the period 2001–2012. The volumetric method was used for the study. The following parameters were determined: start, end, and duration of the pollen season, days of maximum concentration, and total annual pollen counts. Correlation coefficients were calculated between the start of the pollen season and meteorological parameters. The study showed that during the period 2007–2012 the onset of the <em>Aesculus </em>pollen season occurred on average 4 days earlier than in the years 2001–2006. The total annual pollen counts were in the range of 53–271, with an average number of 117. The average pollen counts did not differ significantly in the first and second year of a 6-year period of the study. The analysis of the correlation coefficients showed that there were significant positive correlations only between the season start date and minimum temperature of the first decade of May. The highest <em>Aesculus </em>pollen concentration occurred between 6 and 22 May. The flowers of <em>A. hippocastanum </em>demonstrate an ambophilous pollination strategy due to partial insect and wind pollination.
Highlights
Aesculus hippocastanum L. is an important ornamental, medicinal, and bee plant
In the panicle-like inflorescences of Aesculus hippocastanum L., numerous scorpioid cymes can be distinguished in which flowers mature from the bottom upwards, which is indicated by the colour of the spots on the petals (Fig. 1A)
According to the data collected during our 12-year study period, pollen shed in species of the genus Aesculus most frequently occurs in May, but during the last several years an earlier start of pollen seasons was observed, e.g. in 2009 the first pollen grains of this taxon were recorded within the Lublin area already on 28 April
Summary
Aesculus hippocastanum L. is an important ornamental, medicinal, and bee plant. It belongs to relict species of the Tertiary flora and is an endemic species of the Balkan Peninsula (Ćalić - Dragosavac et al 2010). This tree flowers after 10–15 years and the maximum lifespan of individuals of this species is around 200 years (Maurizio and Grafl , 1969). The flowers of horse chestnut are zygomorphic and polygamous. They are produced in great numbers in conical panicles 20–30 cm long (Seneta , 2007). Under Polish conditions, the flowering of A. hippocastanum occurs in May and at the beginning of June (Rutkowski , 2004)
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