Taxonomic and phylogenetic significance of the pollen morphology and exine ultrastructure in the family Menyanthaceae
lead by Dr. María Cristina Tellería, CONICET- Argentina, 2013 [mariatelleria@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar]
This project aims to study the pollen morphology and the exine ultrastructure of the family Menyanthaceae in order to contribute to our understanding of its relationships with other families of the order Asterales, mainly with the Asteraceae. This family is one of the largest families of Angiosperms.Photo: Nymphoides indica
In current studies of fossil pollen found in sediments dated more than 60 million years ago, pollen of families of the Asterales clade appears together. Data on pollen morphology of living Asterales are today incomplete, therefore new studies including ultrastructural analysis are crucial not only to recognize morphotypes but to understand the relationships between them. The study of pollen morphology of Menyanthaceae was started in this framework.
The DADD fellowship allowed to visit German herbaria to examine specimens of Menyanthaceae and obtain pollen samples. Both, treatments of pollen and preliminary examinations were launched at the Department.