The intrinsic fluorescence spectra of selected pollen and fungal spores

► The fluorescence spectra of several types of PBAP have been measured. ► Spectroscopic signatures for selected botanical families/orders have been obtained. ► The pollen gave clearly discriminating emission spectra. ► The grasses show a sharp band at 675 nm demonstrating the likely presence of chlorophyll-a. ► This latter signal could be used in the real-time atmospheric identification of grass pollen.