Study on seed coat of some Colchicum L. (Colchicaceae) species from Guilan Province

Genus Colchicum L. belongs to Colchicaceae family including about ۱۰۰ species in the world. This genus is represented by ۱۵ species in Iran of which ۹ occur in northern Iran. The aim of this investigation is to estimate the taxonomic value of seed coat quantitative and qualitative characters in delimitation of Colchicum species. In the current survey, seed coat micro- morphological characters of ۴ species of Colchicum (C.trigynum, C. szovitsii, C.freynii and C.speciosum) from Guilan Province (N Iran) are investigated for the first time using scanning slectron microscope. Seeds coat micro- morphology revealed three types of sculpturing (including reticulate, reticulate-areolate and rugose) and fruits morphological analysis showed the importance of beak length in this genus. This study clarified that seed macro and micromorphological characters are significant features in taxonomic classification of the genus Colchicum. Unweighted Pair Group Method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and Principle Component Analysis (PCA), strongly supported the delimitation of the taxa. Based on seed coat characters a key is presented.

کلیدواژه ها:

Micro- morphology ، Taxonomy ، Surface sculpture ، Scanning electron microscope ، Iran