Palynotaxonomy of Gratioleae (Plantaginaceae) in Brazil

Abstract

The morphopolinic study of 66 Brazilian species of the tribe Gratioleae (Plantaginaceae) will be carried out in order to provide a detailed description of the qualitative and quantitative characters of the pollen grains, expanding the knowledge about the pollen and morphological diversity of the tribe giving subsidies for a better taxonomic delimitation genera and species. The pollen material will be removed from exsiccates deposited in reference herbariums, previously identified; the pollen grains will be acetolysed, described, measured and photographed, when necessary an analysis will be carried out using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, in order to confirm data on the ornamentation and exine layers of the pollen grains. The qualitative data will be described and used in the definition of pollen types and the quantitative data will undergo statistical treatment appropriate to the sample size and multivariate analysis to identify quantitatively similar groups. The results obtained will be compared with the phylogenetic studies available for the genera and species studied, to understand the morphological evolution of pollen grains in the tribe. (AU)