TAILIEUCHUNG - Seed morphology and surface microstructure of some Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) taxa distributed in Turkey-in-Europe
The taxa of the genus Euphorbia L. have seeds that mature in schizocarp fruits, called cocci, with three or more cells, each of which explosively splits open into separate parts at maturity. The Euphorbia seeds have taxonomically useful characters. | Turkish Journal of Botany Turk J Bot (2015) 39: 449-457 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Seed morphology and surface microstructure of some Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) taxa distributed in Turkey-in-Europe 1, 1 2 Levent CAN *, Orhan KÜÇÜKER Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky-University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany 2 Botany Department, Faculty of Sciences, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey Received: Accepted: Published Online: Printed: Abstract: The taxa of the genus Euphorbia L. have seeds that mature in schizocarp fruits, called cocci, with three or more cells, each of which explosively splits open into separate parts at maturity. The Euphorbia seeds have taxonomically useful characters. We studied 13 taxa of the genus Euphorbia distributed in Turkey-in-Europe, with a focus on the seed characters; for morphological observations we used a stereomicroscope, and for surface microstructure we used a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The morphological observations showed that the seed characters of shape, size, color, surface features, and the features of the caruncle are uniquely different. SEM observations showed that the seed surface microstructures are also uniquely different, and detected globules that burst out of the surface between the cells. The function of lipid-rich globules is discussed. Key words: Turkey, SEM, stereomicroscope, caruncle, globules, lipid globules 1. Introduction The taxa of the genus Euphorbia L. have seeds that are (in most cases) taxonomically useful. If the samples are collected at the right time, the seeds pop out of the fruits while the samples are pressed and dried in order to be stored in herbaria. Sometimes the exemplars are covered with hundreds of seeds and the researcher can in most cases distinguish the taxon from the seed characters alone. As a matter of fact, Khan (1964) built .
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