Noun

(en-noun)

Fine powder in general, fine flour (16th century usage documented by OED; no longer common.)

* "...and ther was good wyne of Gascoyne,... as well of pollen, as of other vitailes..." Froissart, Jean, 1338?-1410?; Berners, John Bourchier, Lord [https://archive.org/details/chroniclefroiss00froigoog]

(Bailey)

A fine granular substance produced in flowers. Technically a collective term for pollen grains (microspores) produced in the anthers of flowering plants. (This specific usage dating from mid 18th century.)

* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katrina G. Claw

, title= Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.}}