An apparatus and method of quantitatively obtaining a measurement of pollen of a plant. One method of counting comprises imaging the sample with the pollen well-distributed in the focal plane of the imager. Image evaluation software can identify and count objects in the image that are consistent with pollen. Total pollen count for the plant can be derived from the count of pollen of the sample, proportionality of the sample volume to the starting volume, and proportionality of area of sample imaged to total area of sample. Pollen quantification can be used for research or commercial production decisions relative to the plant or its seed.