Pollen morphology of some selected species of the genus Centaurea L. (Asteraceae) from Syria

Centaurea genus is one of the most important genera of the family Asteraceae. Palynological study on six species of the genus namely C. iberica, C. virgata, C. verutum, C. hyalolepis, C. solstitialis, C. ammocyanus was carried out. We reported a total of 21 qualitative and quantitative pollen features. Results obtained from the detailed investigation by light microscopy showed that pollen grains of the studied species were similar in shape, size, apertures characters, polarization and symmetry, while they differed in color, exine ornamentation pattern and density of the spines distributed on the exine surface and in quantitative measurements. As a result, we found that some pollen characters proved to be of taxonomic value and are useful for seperating the examined taxa of the genus Centaurea. (C) 2019 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.