An uninterrupted sequence of fossilized pollen from flowers begins in the Early Cretaceous, approximately 140 million years ago, and it is generally assumed that flowering plants first evolved around that time.

When did pollination evolve?

The evolution of pollination coincided with the evolution of seed. Fossilized pollen grains of the seed ferns, an extinct group of seed-producing plants with fern-like leaves, have been dated to the late Carboniferous period (about 300 million years ago).

When did pollen and seeds evolve?

Seed plants appeared about one million years ago, during the Carboniferous period. Two major innovations were seeds and pollen.