Guide On Becoming A Tree Pollen Collector

Find Hidden Money In Tree Pollen On Your Own Rural Land!

Tree pollen collector is a REAL supplemental income possibility on your own land or in a nearby forest to make a lot of money online.

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Tree pollen can cause allergies, but who would think that it has any value?

Well, for the few rural landowners who take an interest in it, pollen can have you sneezing all the way to the bank!

Rural Money Tip: The highest paying jobs in the new economy are those which you can do on your own rural homestead, outdoors and online. Being a tree pollen collector is a way I make extra money with the Rural Money Homestead Garden. In order to make money online in the new economy as a tree pollen collector, you need a website that generate income.

Plant pollen should not be confused with bee pollen and its health food aspects.

Tree, shrub, grass and weed pollens can be collected as well.

However, they are used mainly for production of allergenic medicines and allergy testing.

There are only a few processors of tree pollen in the United States and most are associated with large pharmaceutical companies.

These companies collect pollen with their own staffs operating under the guidance of a professional botanist.

They also purchase raw tree pollen from a relatively small number of trained collectors located throughout the country.

These pollen collectors harvest flowering structures from trees and shrubs on their own land as well as other private land owners.

The pollen collectors pay private forest landowners a percentage of the value of flowers harvested, offering the fortunate landowner an opportunity for annual income.

Pollen collectors are actually “flower collectors,” and pick over a short 6-8 week period in the Spring, based on the need of the processing companies.

Only the male flowers or portion of the flower (Anther) is utilized, but most collectors pick and sell the entire flower structure.

The greatest volume of tree pollen is collected from species that occur over a large geographic range and produce large amounts of wind disseminated pollen.

It is this pollen to which people are most commonly exposed.

During the collection season, collectors may work long hours and require specialized equipment.

In most cases, tree pollen collection should be considered only as a supplemental income possibility.

For this reason many pollen collectors are involved in other businesses such as tree service, forestry, medicinal plant collection, seed collection or farming.

Collectors partially dry the flowers prior to shipping to the processors.

They are usually paid on a weight basis for their dried flowers.

Rates are based upon the historic yield of pollen and the market value of the processed pollen.

Prices vary for different species, but the species price is fairly constant from year to year.

Collectors normally receive in the range of $5 to $40 per pound of dried flowers.

Once the pollen is cleaned and processed, it can be stored for several years.

Thus, the processing companies will purchase large quantities of a species that exhibits an unusually large crop in a particular year.

Processed tree pollen must meet exacting standards for purity.

And, it is sold to pharmaceutical companies who further refine it into liquid extracts.

Flowering structures are harvested by several different methods:

• Trimming trees and hand stripping the flowers;
• Collecting branchlets and flowers;
• Hand picking flowers from standing trees;
• Vacuuming pollen directly from the flowers;
• Shaking trees mechanically and collecting pollen on plastic sheets under the trees.

Becoming a tree pollen collector is so much easier than being a bee collector whereby you have to vacuum pollen, shake trees, locate the queen, etc.; and you will get stung!

If you are interested in becoming a pollen collector, State Forestry agencies and State Cooperative Extension services may have information about pollen collection activities in their respective States.

Below is a list of tree species from which pollen extracts are manufactured.

“This listing is for general information only, may not be all-inclusive, and may contain species not purchased by all processing companies.”

Shelby G. Jones, Consulting Forester

Tree Species From Which Pollen Extracts Are Manufactured
Common Name	Scientific Name(s)
Acacia	Acacia spp
Alder	Alnus rhombifolia/rubra/velutina
Ash	Fraxinus americana/pennsylvanica/velutina
Aspen	Populus tremuloides
Beech	Fagus grandifolia
Beefwood	Casuarina equisetifolia
Birch	Betula fontinalis/lenta/nigra
Bottlebrush	Callistemon citrinus
Boxelder	Acer negundo
Cedar, Mtn.	Juniperus sabinoides
Cedar, Red	Juniperus virginiana
Cedar, Salt	Tamarix gallica
Cottonwood	Populus trichocarpa/deltoides/fremonti
Cypress	Arizona Cupressus arizonica
Elm	Ulmus americana/pumila
Eucalyptus	Eucalyptus spp.
Hackberry	Celtis occidentalis
Hazelnut	Corylus americana
Hickory/Pecan	Carya ovata/illinoensis/tomentosa
Juniper	Juniperus californica/scopulorum/osteosperma/occidentalis
Maple	Acer macrophyllum/rubrum/saccharum/saccharinum
Melaleuca	Melaleuca leucadendron
Mesquite	Prosopis juliflora
Mulberry	Morus alba/rubra
Oak	Quercus agrifolia/alba/dumosa/gambelii/rubra/velutina
Olive	European Olea europaea
Palm, Date	Phoenix dactylifera
Palo Verde	Cercidium torreyana
Pecan	Carya pecan
Pepper	Tree Schinus molle
Pine	Pinus echinata/ponderosa/strobus
Poplar	Poplar alba/deltoides/nigra
Privet	Ligustrum vulgare
Russian Olive	Elaeagnus angustifolia
Sweetgum	Liquidambar styraciflua
Sycamore	Platanus occidentalis/racemosa
Tree of Heaven	Ailanthus altissima
Walnut	Juglans californica/nigra/regia
Willow	Salix discolor/lasiolepis/nigra

Nutritional Properties Of Pine Pollen

Tree pollen contains 18 amino acids.

It has numerous vitamins, including A, B1, B2, B6, B3, B9, Vitamins C, D (rare for plants) E and Beta Carotene.

It is also full of minerals and contains many powerful antioxidants.

Also, it has beneficial enzymes and other compounds.

Some uses in Chinese medicine include:

• Relieving rheumatic pain
• Relieving fatigue
• Increasing endurance
• Strengthening the immune system
• Improving the skin
• Strengthening the heart
• Strengthening the GI tract and stomach
• Increasing mental agility
• Healing prostate problems
• Increasing agility
• Decreasing weight

Now, tree pollen, particularly pine pollen, is becoming super-popular with herbalists, nutritionists and wild-food enthusiasts.

From the Surthrival site, I found these benefits of taking pine pollen for both men and women:

• Restore hormone levels in andropause and menopause
• Regulate and strengthen the immune system
• Reduce cholesterol
• Relieve rheumatic pain
• Enhance metabolic function of the skin and nourish the hair at its roots
• Adjust the endocrine system and raise immunity power of the organs
• Improve endurance for high efficiency and quick pace
• Protect the cardiovascular system and increase superoxide dismutase levels (potent antioxidant) in the heart, blood, liver, and brain
• Improve metabolism and regulate weight
• Accelerate activity of the liver cells and regulate bile secretion
• Regulate prostate function
• Common cold preventative
• Restore androgen and estrogen balance
• Improve metabolism and regulate weight (safe and toxic-free fat-lowering supplement)
• Nourish the brain
• Stimulate liver regeneration
• Increase free testosterone levels in the blood
• Dramatically improves your vitality and stamina

Very interesting, right?

I have a history of rheumatoid arthritis, so I was excited to learn it relieves arthritis pain.

And, I was totally sold on harvesting it for the Rural Money Homestead Garden, especially after I saw how much it cost to buy it!

The Nitty Gritty: How Much Money Can You Make?

Tree pollen that you sell to pharmaceutical companies can earn as little as $5 or as much as $40 per pound depending on the kind of pollen you collect.

How To Make More Money As A Tree Pollen Collector

Given that this is a limited job, many people who become pollen collectors also choose to work in other fields of botany, including raising plants and flowers and running nurseries, which are other homebased businesses.

Keep in mind that to collect tree pollen, you’ll have to be able to identify various species of trees by site when you see them blooming.

Also, you must keep the tree pollen completely separate so that you don’t contaminate different types of pollen.

As far as selling tree pollen is concerned, it’s best to contact your State Forestry Service to find out more details about the legal rules surrounding collection and selling of tree pollen.

Usually, they can give you a better idea of where to collect the pollen (it may be legal in some State parks, though picking flowers in Federal parks is illegal.

They may even be able to tell you where to sell the tree pollen you collect.

Qualifications And Requirements

There are no formal requirements to be a pollen collector.

However, you will need to know how to identify different types of trees by sight.

First Steps

Start by reading more about tree pollen and why it is collected.

A resource is listed below though you can also inquire in your local library about other books on tree pollen.

Then, contact your State Forestry Service to find out more about where and how tree pollen is collected in your State.

Image By Victoriamew

Resources

Check out these helpful resources to find out more about becoming a pollen collector:

This is an excellent book about pollen for the serious “flower collector”. It is the plant structure most widely used by humans, is a key structure in plant reproduction giving rise to fruits and seeds. Moreover, the biotechnological use of pollen is of great importance for plant breeders since it allows them to obtain varieties with better utilization and yield. In the first part, the successive steps of pollen development in the anther from floral induction to pollen germination and fertilization are thoroughly examined; the second part is devoted to pollen behavior in vitro.

Anther and Pollen: From Biology to Biotechnology