Roses are red, Violets are blue, and Pollen is... confusing?
Now that we know I'm not a poet let's dive into this flowery topic—the Pollen gene.
This mutation Originated at VPI as an incomplete dominant trait from an imported wild-caught blood python called the “Flower Back.” The Flower Back (Flower) is the homozygous form of the Pollen gene. Fun fact: the original name of the incomplete dominant morph was “Het Flower,” which created a lot of confusion among keepers as the term “Het” is often used to reference recessive mutations. So, They adopted the name Pollen as the precursor of the Flower.
The pollen is a fantastic morph with very nice features and above-average coloration. But it comes with its own challenges as this gene can sometimes be "hard" to differentiate from other mutations or wild-type phenotypes.
When looking at Pollen animals, some features stand out the most.
The pattern has a predominant Wavy dorsal stripe that resembles “small S-shaped waves.”
The lateral pattern is also interesting. Instead of being a “fused” pattern like in genetic stripes or round blotches like in Wild types, the pollen presents defined elongated lateral blotches (AKA Alien heads) that run from the bottom (belly) to the top (spine), almost reaching the dorsal pattern. Sometimes, these blotches contain a black dot in the center that stretches with the rest of the pattern.
As mentioned before, the color in pollens is intense, ranging from dark burnt oranges to deep reds. This morph seems prone to be above average in color saturation, with the Flowers being the prime example.
The variability between pollens can be huge, and the characteristics previously mentioned must be considered guidelines but never rules (as with most things in nature). The best two ways to be "sure" that your animal is a Pollen is simply by getting it from a Reputable breeder or being the direct offspring of a Flower (which circles back to a reputable breeder).
The super form of Pollen (homozygous) is the Flower. This is one of the prettiest blood python morphs out there. The pattern turns into an extreme amplification of the Pollen gene. The two main characteristics of the Flower mutation are its vibrant colors and its unique and well-defined wavy dorsal striped pattern ("Petal" like loops). Some Flowers can also display a hypomelanistic trait, with very low black pigments on the pattern.
We are just starting to scratch the surface with this project, and some breeders have achieved outstanding results with some "designer morphs" using the Pollen gene. One of the best examples, as of right now, is the Snowstorm (Pollen-Goldeneye), produced by Elijah Armas over at Juggernaut Reptiles. And the T+ Pollen-Matrix Nick produced over at CBE.
