Pollen studies of some species in six genera of the family Cyperaceae from Ile-Ife, South West, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study was undertaken to investigate the pollen diversity and possible delimitation of 24 species from six genera of the
family Cyperaceae based on pollen morphology. The pollens were acetolysed using standard methods and viewed under the
light microscope. The quantitative and qualitative pollen characters were documented. The quantitative data were subjected
to PCA and SCLA analysis. From this study, it was documented that quantitative characters have little taxonomic value and
cannot be solely relied upon for identifying a particular genus in the family Cyperaceae. However, species in a genus can be
distinctly identified using qualitative characters such as pollen shapes and ornamentation though only a few of the species
studied were ornamented. The study revealed the pollen diversity among the members of the family studied and concluded
that even though palynological studies using the light microscope may not be used alone in delimiting the species, it can be
used to identify distinct species in the family.