POLLEN MORPHOLOGY OF IRANIAN BORAGINACEAE FAMILY AND ITS TAXONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE

The pollen morphology of 42 species belonging to 32 genera of Boraginaceae have been investigated by SEM and sometimes by LM. The results confirm the eurypalinous character of this family, in which a large number of species can be recognized by their pollen characters. The palynological result revealed that pollen grains of the family posses tricolporate aperture and other types derived from it and are primarily divided into two groups by having and lacking pseudocolpi. The taxonomic implications of the pollen morphological features are discussed.