Part of a series on |
Forensic science |
---|
![]() |
A pollen calendar is used to show the peak pollen times for different types of plant pollen, which causes allergic reactions in certain people. [1] [2] [3]
A pollen calendar can be a very useful tool in forensic science, because it can be used to place the month, or week, or date of death. [4] [5] The use of pollen for criminal investigation purposes is called "forensic palynology". [6] [4]
However, the use of a pollen calendar to set the date of death should be used with extreme caution, and only by a carefully trained expert witness. [7] The CSI effect has put pressure on some police officers and district attorneys to provide pollen-based evidence, but such evidence "appear[s] to be of limited use in the forensic context where outcomes are scrutinised in court." [7]