Your eyes are fooling you. That blanket covering South Carolina these days is green not yellow.
Green as in money.
The pollen covering cars, outdoor pets and lawn furniture is mostly from pine trees, the backbone of the state's $17.45 billion forestry and timber industry.
Today's news video
The S.C. Forestry Commission points out that forestry, the No. 1 manufacturing industry in the state in terms of payroll, would collapse without pollen. Pines need pollen to produce pine cones that contain the fertilized seeds, which drop to the ground to produce more trees.
Unlike flowering plants, which rely on insects and birds to transport their pollen, most large trees rely on the wind to spread pollen.
Pollen particles from many trees are so small they're difficult to see.
That's the pollen that causes most spring allergy problems.
But pine pollen is big and comes out in clumps, seemingly all at once.
That's what's turning the state yellow - or if you look at it with the right perspective, green - this week.
And there's a bit of relief ahead: there's a 70 percent chance of rain Thursday evening.
- Joey Holleman
You can send your pollen photos to online@thestate.com for consideration to publish online.
Marvin Moore of Long & Son, Lawn & Garden Service, blows away the pollen in front of the Richland County Public Library on Assembly St.
Get The State newspaper delivered to your home. Click here to subscribe.
We encourage an open – and civil – exchange of affirming and dissenting opinions on our stories. We invite you to respectfully comment on our content as part of our interactive community.
Click here to read our comment guidelines and learn about our commenting system. Report abuse by clicking the "Report Abuse" link.
E-Mail
Print
