Indian sub-continent is rich in genetic diversity of various
species of genus Abelmoschus and Hibiscus. Several of
these species exist in wild, semi-wild and cultivated forms
due to favorable eco-geographical conditions. Seed
morphology (especially trichome structure) of Malvaceae
members is known to be diverse, but variation patterns
have never been critically studied in these complex genera.
In the present paper usefulness of this important character
for the generic differentiation between Abelmoschus (13
species) andHibiscus (10 species) using scanning electron
microscopy of seed has been described. Primary generic
differentiation has been derived using basic seed trichome
morphology i.e. unicellular (un-fused) and multi-cellular
(fused) which was spiral or non–spiral, spread evenly or
localized in all the studied taxa. The presence of unicellular
and un-fused trichomes on seed coat surface in the
Abelmoschus species provides an additional and significant
micro-morphological differentiation to delineate the
boundaries between genus Abelmoschus and Hibiscus.
Keywords: Abelmoschus, generic differentiation, Hibiscus, micro-morphology, seed trichome, SEM, Abelmoschus-Hibiscus complex
Year: 2020
Volume: 80
Issue: 1
Article DOI: 10.31742/IJGPB.80.1.10
Print ISSN: 0019-5200
Online ISSN: 0975-6906
Pravin Patil, S. K. Malik and K. V. Bhat info_circle