Pollen morphology of Iranian species of Typha L. (Typhaceae) and its taxonomic significance

Pollen analyses of 12 Iranian species of Typha L. were conducted through light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Among the twelve studied species, we found that five species, T. caspica, T. latifolia, T. lugdunensis, T. minima and T. shuttleworthii, present pollen in tetrads, whereas the remaining seven species, T. angustifolia, T. azerbaijanensis, T. domingensis, T. grossheimii, T. kalatensis, T. laxmanii and T. tourcomanica, have pollen in monads. The exine of Typha species is mostly reticulate although a few species present perforate‐microreticulate and rugulate exine. Our analyses revealed that using a combination of light microscopy and scanning eletron microscopy characters the identification of species is feasible. A diagnostic key based on palynological traits is presented for all studied taxa (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)