PJB-2017-661
POLLEN MORPHOLOGY OF GENUS ERITRICHIUM SCHRAD. (BORAGINACEAE) FROM PAN HIMALAYA & CHINA (Pollen morphology of Eritrichium Schard. species)
PARAS MAZARI*
Abstract
The genus Eritrichium Schrad. comprises about 50 species, mainly distributed in Central Asia and Pan-Himalaya, with a few species in Europe and North America. There are about 43 species in China. The Infrageneric classification of Eritrichium has long been controversial and pollen morphology of Eritrichium species is still largely unknown. Furthermore, Boraginaceae is a eurapalynous and its complexity is rare in angiosperms especially in regard of pollen apertures. The aim of our study is to analyze the pollen morphology of Eritrichium and to evaluate its taxonomic significance. In the present work pollen morphology of 32 taxa belonging to genus Eritrichium have been examined by using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Generally pollen grains very small to small in size, radially symmetrical, isopolar prolate, perprolate and rarely subprolate in shape, 6-heterocolpate, (tricolpate, tricolporate and hexacolporate) mostly constricted at the equator rarely without constriction. Amb (polar outline) was commonly circular but quadrangular and triangular was also observed. Exine was psilate and perforated at poles while area of aperture was ornamented. The result showed great diversity in pollen characters of the Eritrichium species in regard of the shape, number and arrangement of apertures and number and position of pores and these characters appeared to be useful in distinguishing the morphologically similar taxa and can provide some useful information for the correct identification and the species-level revisions.
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