Palynotaxonomical study of some species of Rosaceae and Polygonaceae

The pollen morphological descriptions and illustrations are available for use in palynological investigations and plant taxonomic studies. Since many of the palynological studies are based on the detailed knowledge of the pollen morphology, in this study the pollen morphology of some of the members of the family Rosaceae and Polygonaceae was examined. We hope this study will contribute to the preparation of pollen atlas of Darjeeling Hills, India. Pollen grains belonging to these species were examined with light Photomicroscope (LM) as well as Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) (for some species of Rosaceae) as regards some morphological features, principally: pollen shape; size; aperture characters; sculpture and structure of the exine. This study provides some insight into the features useful for pollen identification and problems that may be encountered when differentiating pollen of related taxa. Since last few decades, morpho-systamatic studies have contributed to the evaluation of many taxonomomic systems. This approach of the different species and genus under the family would be needed to evaluate the classification of Rosaceae and Polygonaceae proposed by various authors.