Pollen Characterization of Some Tropical Flora of Kollapur Revenue Division of Nagarkurnool District of Telangana State, South India

Abstract

The present paper deals with the ongoing pollen morphological studies of the flora of Kollapur division of Nagarkurnool district of Telangana state, India. Pollen morphology of fifteen taxa referable to thirteen families was analysed. Pollen morphology of Alstonia scholaris, Cordia sebestena, Dichrostachis cinerea, Dodonea viscosa, Gyrocarpus americanus, Leucophyllum frutescens, Mimosa aculeticarpa, Mimosa pudica, Nyctanthes arbor tristis, Prunus mahleb, Santalum album, Senna occidentalis, Styrax officinalis, Syzygium cumini, Zizyphus mauritiana, were analysed under light microscopy. The pollen slides were prepared by using standard acetolysis method (Erdtman, 1960). In this study, pollen morphological features including grain units, size and shape, number and character of apertures, exine sculpture were examined. Pollen grain units were mostly monads but tetrads and octads were also recorded. The shapes of all pollen grain varied from oblate, oblate-spheroidal, prolate, prolate-spheroidal to spheroidal. Apertures were simple and composite types, colpate, colporate and porate aperture types were characterized in the pollen taxa. The exine sculptring patterns of studied pollen taxa ranged from psilate, verrucate, microreticulate, reticulate, retipilate, striate-rugulate, and scabrate.