Palynological study on Digitalis lamarckii Ivanina (Plantaginaceae), an endemic species

Abstract

The Plantaginaceae family has more than 90 genera and more than 1900 species, and many taxa in this family have been reported to have medicinal, decorative and economic importance. Digitalis L. species, commonly known as the “foxglove”. In Turkey, the genus Digitalis is represented by nine taxa. This study aimed to investigate the pollen morphological characteristics of Digitalis lamarckii which is distributed only in Türkiye, and to evaluate its potential contribution to the taxonomy of the Digitalis genus. Pollen samples were prepared utilizing the Woodehouse Method from fully developed pollen grains of the species. A comprehensive analysis of the species pollen morphology was conducted through observations using both a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope. According to the analysis results, it was determined that the pollen grains are radial symmetric, isopolar, tricolporate, circular in amb shape, prolate-spheroidal in pollen shape, and reticulate-microreticulate in ornamentation.