Pollen morphology and the infrageneric classification ofMinuartia(Caryophyllaceae)

摘要

Pollen size, type and number of apertures, and exine thickness are reported for 25 species representative of all four subgenera ofMinuartia(Caryophyllaceae) and of the related generaHonkenyaandWilhelmsia. The pollen of the species ofMinuartiasubgenusRhodalsineis trizonocolpate with a relatively thin exine and it differs from that of all other species of the subfamily Alsinoideae. Species of this subfamily apparently all have pollen grains that are pantoporate with a thick exine. The relationship of the species of subgenusRhodalsinewith those ofSpergularia(subfamily Paronychioideae), a genus which has pollen grains similar to those of subgenusRhodalsine, is discussed. A new name,Minuartia webbiiMcNeill and Bramwell, is proposed.