Pollen Morphological Study on Some Species of Kickxia, Scrophularia　in Relation to Plantago from Saudi Arabia

摘要

Pollen grains of ten species of Kickxia (Plantaginaceae, previously assigned to Scrophulariaceae), two species of Scrophularia(Scrophulariaceae) and one species of genus Plantago (Plantaginaceae) in Saudi Arabia were studied using both light andscanning electron microscopy. The most obvious findings in Plantago major are: Pantoporate pollen class (5–9), pollen shapeclass prolate-spheroidal, a polar, pollen shape-circular, circumaperture, apocolpium-absent, aperture type-annularand pollen wall sculpture-verrucate. This result showed that Plantago major was separated by their pollen morphologicalcharacteristics away from the other two studied genera. This result supports some taxonomic views of some scientists inmaintaining Plantago species in a separate monogeneric family (Plantaginaceae) and keeping Kickxia and Scrophulariawithin the Scrophulariaceae family.