Micromorphology Pollen Grains of Five Species of the Genus Salvia L. (Lamiaceae) in Libya
In the present work, the pollen morphological features of five species, belonging to the genus Salvia (Lamiaceae: subfamily Nepetoideae: tribe Mentheae) S. lanigera Poir, S. verbenaca L., S. fructicosa Miller., S. spinosa L., S. viridis L., which were collected throughout Libya, have been intensively studied by using scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The basic shape of the pollen grains in most taxa is suboblate, oblate-spheroidal. oblate-spheroidal in one species(S. lanigera) and suboblate in four species others. Hexacolpate pollen is dominant in all studied taxa. All species medium size. The exine ornamentation of these four species is bireticulate-Perforate(the common type) with one exception in the case of (S. verbenaca), showing a reticulate-Perforate. The findings show that palynological characters such as pollen shape, aperture numbers, and types, and exine ornamentation exhibit remarkable differences amongst the studied species.
