Pollen morphology of Chinese Sileneae and its systematic significance

ABSTRACT

Pollen morphology of 58 species and two subspecies of the genera Agrostemma, Cucubalus, Lychnis and Silene of Chinese Sileneae was studied using scanning electron microscopy. Among them, 50 species and one subspecies were reported for the first time. The results demonstrate that the number of pores and pollen surface ornamentation have important systematic significance. The surface ornamentation can be divided into four types, namely microechinate-perforate, microechinate-punctate, microechinate-reticulate and microechinate-punctate-perforate. The palynological characteristics support that (i) Cucubalus and Lychnis should be classified into Silene; (ii) Agrostemma and Silene are sister groups; and (iii) the infrageneric classification of Silene still needs further study.

KEYWORDS:

• Sileneae
• Agrostemma
• Cucubalus
• Lychnis
• Silene
• pollen morphology
• systematics

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [under grant numbers 31270276 and 30470106], the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University [under grant number IRT-17R75] and Support Project of High-level Teachers in Beijing Municipal Universities in the Period of 13th Five-Year Plan [under grant number IDHT20180518].

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chengyu Wan

CHENGYU WAN graduated with a BSc in biological sciences from the College of Life Sciences of Henan Agricultural University, Henan Province, China. She is studying for an MSc in botany in the College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. She specialises in the palynology and taxonomy of Caryophyllaceae.

Xiaoxue Bai

XIAOXUE BAI is studying for a BSc in biological sciences in the College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. She specialises in the palynology and taxonomy of Caryophyllaceae.

Jiaxi Liu

JIAXI LIU is a professor in the College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. He received his BSc and MSc in botany from Harbin Normal University, Heilongjiang, China, and his PhD in ecology from Northeast Forestry University, Heilongjiang, China. He researches the palynology and embryology of the modern floras of several Chinese ecosystems.