Pollen is a fine, powdery substance that plants produce to help make seeds and new plants. If you've ever seen yellow dust on a car in spring or noticed a bee covered in golden powder, you've seen pollen. Each tiny grain of pollen contains half the genetic information needed to create a new plant, similar to how reproduction works in animals.

Plants can't move around to find partners like animals can, so they've developed clever ways to spread their pollen. Some plants rely on wind to carry pollen from one flower to another. Other plants produce sweet nectar that attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. When these creatures visit flowers to drink nectar, pollen sticks to their bodies and gets carried to the next flower they visit. This process is called pollination, and without it, we wouldn't have apples, strawberries, pumpkins, or many of the fruits and vegetables we eat.

For people with allergies, pollen can cause sneezing, itchy eyes, and congestion. That's because their immune systems overreact to pollen floating in the air, treating it like a dangerous invader rather than harmless plant dust. Allergy season typically peaks in spring, when trees, grasses, and flowers release massive amounts of pollen into the air.