Taxonomical and Morphological Study of Pollen Grains in Wild Species of Althaea L. (Malvaceae) Grown in Iraq

Abstract

The present study dealt with the pollen grains morphology of four wild species belonging to the genus Althaea L. that grown in Iraq which were A. cannabina L., A. hirsute L., A. ludwigii L. and A. officinalis L. study. The results showed that pollen grains were spheroid, sub spheroid, medium – large in size, pantoporate, spinules, and granular in ornamentation. The pollen sizes showed variations among the species, where the smallest was recorded in A. ludwigii 38.85 µm while the largest was in A. cannabina 78.5 µm. The species also varied in spinules shapes, lengths and their base, where they ranged from 0.75 µm in A. officinalis to 1.8 µm in A. cannabina in length, the width ranged from 0.3 in A. officinalis to 1.2 in A. hirsuta ,the diameter of the apertures was 0.25 µm in A. officinalis which was the smallest while the largest was 1.33 µm in A. cannabina . Wall thickness was 0.5 µm in A. officinalis which was the smallest while the largest 1.45 µm. was in A. cannabina.