Introduction : The Northwest European pollen flora

We intend to study pollen grains of all seed plants and the spores of a number of important pteridophytes and bryophytes. The main goal of this project is to publish keys to the pollen types and to illustrate them by means of photographs for easy reference. Moreover, this Northwest European Pollen Flora will also include comprehensive descriptions of the pollen types and information on the pertinent literature. Much attention will be paid to variability in pollen populations, and -- if possible -- to occurrence in Quaternary deposits. The taxonomic position, evolution, and palaeogeography of the pollen types and taxa will be stressed to a lesser extent