The Pollen morphology of nine species of Crucianella L. and ten subspecies of C. gilanica representing two sections: Roseae and Crucianella, was investigated using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). All the studied species (except for C. angustifolia) are palynologically described here for the first time. The results revealed considerable pollen character variation among the studied species. The pollen grains are monads, isopolar, radial symmetrical and relatively small. The largest pollen grains were observed in C. angustifolia (P = 24.12 µm, E = 26.04 µm), while the smallest pollen was found in C. gilanica subsp. carduchorum (P = 16.32 µm, E = 12.57 µm). The outline pollen grains varied from subcircular to circular in polar view and elliptical to quadrangular and circular in equatorial view. The shape of pollen changed from spheroidal to oblate‐spheroidal, prolate‐spheroidal, suboblate, subprolate and prolate. The pollen grains are zonocolpate and their number of colpi ranges from 6 to 10. The results showed five different types of sexine ornamentation: perforate, reticulate, microreticulate, microfoveolate and psilate. The sexine of all examined specimens is covered with microspines. The current survey shows that the pollen morphological characters of the studies species are taxonomically informative and may provide good help in identification purposes. We used multivariate analysis to determine the potential contribution of palynological data to the species relationships. The result of cluster analysis and principal component analysis showed pollen morphological affinities between the two studied sections.
The present study investigates the pollen morphology of 12 species belonging to the genera Ammannia, Lythrum, and Rotala of the family Lythraceae in Iran using light microscope and scanning electron microscope. The pollen grains are oblate, suboblate, oblate spheroidal, spheroidal, prolate spheroidal, subprolate and prolate, tricolporate with three or six alternating pseudocolpi (heteroaperturate), striate or rugulate exine sculpturing, microverrucate to microbaculate and microechinate colpus membrane, microverrucate to microbaculate, and psilate pseudocolpi membrane sculpturing types. The results revealed that these characters are taxonomically informative and can be used to identify the three studied genera and their species. We used multivariate analysis to understand the importance of pollen morphological data in determining genera and species relationships. Our findings revealed that the pollen qualitative traits have significant role in determining the generic delimitation.
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