Spores and pollen are among the crucial proxy indicators in the research of global change and environmental evolution. The pollen of different plants is influenced by multiple aspects, such as its own production, dispersal, transportation, source range, deposition, preservation, and the external environment. Consequently, the relationship between pollen and vegetation is not a simple linear one. This has been a long-standing problem that palynology has been striving to solve. Badagong Mountain National Nature Reserve, located in the mid-mountain region of northern mid-subtropical China, features relatively pristine primary and secondary forests, predominantly composed of Fagus lucida and Quercus multinervis. Utilizing surface pollen data obtained from 42 sampling points within the reserve, we investigated the characteristics of pollen assemblages across various plant communities and their relevance as proxies for the parent vegetation. The primary findings indicated that arboreal pollen predominated in the pollen assemblages, with an arboreal to nonarboreal pollen (AP/NAP) ratio of approximately 7.6 and a pollen concentration of 137,122 grains per gram. Pollen assemblages from Pterostyrax psilophyllus, Phellodendron chinense, and five rare plant communities did not accurately mirror their respective local plant communities. Pollen assemblages from swamps, shrub/shrub forests, and wild Castanea mollissima forests were partially congruent with the composition of their respective plant communities, while those from Quercus glauca forests and Fagus lucida forests closely matched the dominant composition of their parent plant communities. The results of cluster analysis and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) showed that swamp, Weigela japonica scrub, Carpinus turczaninowii shrubbery, and broadleaf forest could be well distinguished by pollen spectra; Weigela japonica scrub, Carpinus turczaninowii shrubbery, and Rhododendron shrubbery could be distinguished from each other, while the distribution of Rhododendron shrubbery, Quercus glauca forest, and Fagus lucida forest were more concentrated and not accurately represented by their pollen spectra. Among the main pollen taxa, Pinus, Alnus, Betula, and Quercus-deciduous were over-represented, Cyclobalanopsis - evergreen Quercus were moderately representative, and Fagus and Poaceae were under-represented. Plant diversity index and exotic over-represented pollen strongly interfered with the pollen content of dominant species in the community. The pollen content of Fagus lucida in the pure forest could reach up to 40%, yet it was also influenced by the pollen representation of other dominant species within the co-dominant community. The pollen morphology of Cyclobalanopsis and evergreen Quercus species is very similar, making it difficult to identify and differentiate them. It is advisable to group them as Cyclobalanopsis -evergreen Quercus for analysis in palynological identification. This study can provide basic data and theoretical support for the study of community succession and environmental reconstruction in subtropical mountainous areas, and provide practical reference for vegetation restoration and ecological protection.