Pollen morphology of selected species of Anacardiaceae and its taxonomic significance

Abstract

In the present work, the pollen morphology of 22 species of Anacardiaceae was analysed, occurring in the state of Bahia, Brazil. The palynological material was obtained from specimens deposited in herbaria. The pollen grains were acetolysed, measured, illustrated and described under light and scanning electron microscopies. The quantitative data were statistically analysed according to sample size. The analysed species presented pollen grains in monads, small to medium sized, isopolar, amb circular to subtriangular, with shapes varying from oblate-spheroidal to prolate, 3-colporate, with fastigium in some species. The exine ornamentation was characterized as psilate, striate, microreticulate-striate, striato-perforate, suprastriato-infra(micro)reticulate. The pollen morphology variation confirms the eurypalynous character of the family. The attributes of the apertures and exine may collaborate in the taxonomic circumscription and provide a clarification of the phylogenetic relationships of the group.

Key words
Anacardieae; Palynology; pollen grains; Rhoeae; Spondiadeae