Pollen morphology of some taxa in the family Lamiaceae (Labiatae) from Turkey

Abstract

The family Lamiaceae is often uttered as the mint family, and the plant family of flowering plants. In Turkey, 609 species of 46 genera in the Lamiaceae family are naturally distributed, and almost half of these are endemics. The aim of this study is to examine the pollen characteristics of some species in the Lamiaceae family. The family is a source of pollen and nectar, which is important for honey bees, and the medicinal and aromatic use of inflorescence reveal the importance of identifying the species. In this study, pollen of 14 different species belonging to 12 genera in the Lamiaceae family were examined. The equatorial axis of the examined pollens is in the range of 50.6-22.4 μm and the polar axis of the examined pollens is in the range of 55.6-18.3 μm. It is stated that the pollen morphology of the Lamiaceae family can be used as an important character in the differentiation of taxa at the species level. It is also stated to be an important feature in the classification of the Lamiaceae family. As a result, these data obtained by light microscopy are fundamental data for taxonomic, morphological and melisopalynological studies.