It's an adage that's become part of Australian National University folklore: if you haven't started studying when the fluff starts flying - you're in trouble.
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Springtime in the capital sees our deciduous white poplars - Populous alba - shedding countless tufts of the white stuff, making for a visual spectacle or hayfever horror show.
Flowers of the females of the species comprise the spring blizzards, and the clouds can be spotted billowing about the university campus and along stretches of road in Canberra's inner south.
Philosophy student Stuart Ferrie is largely unconcerned about the impending end of year exams, and he doesn't put much credence in the fable of the fluff.
In fact, he reckons if there were any truth to it the ANU's failure rate would be considerably higher: ''I think a lot of people haven't started studying yet,'' he said.
