![tulip-pollen](https://globalplantcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/tulip-4036888_640.jpg)
Unless it happens to be allergy season, most people don’t give a lot of thought to pollen. But new research might change the way we look at a field of flowers. A study suggests that pollen color can evolve independently from flower traits, and that plant species maintain both light and dark pollen because each offers distinct survival advantages.