• Applied Microscopy
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.219-228
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• 2010

The seeds of 16 species from sect. Anthacantha and related taxa were examined using light and scanning electron microscopy to illucidate the boundary of the section and their relationship among species. Using six qualitative characters clustering analyses were conducted, and three types were recognized. Type I including species from sect. Anthacantha+sect. Meleuphorbia is characterized by the ovate shape, rounded at base and smooth along the ventral line. Type II including species from sect. Medusae+sect. Treisia-1 is squared in shape and are tuberculate. Tubercles are prominent along the ventral line. Type III (sect. Treisia-2 group) is mostly rounded, and as in type II, tubercles are prominent along the ventral line, but the unique crestae consisting of the grouping testa cells differed from the surface patterns of Types I and II. Based on the seed morphology, sects. Anthacantha and Meleuphorbia are closely related, which is well supported by the results from molecular and pollen morphological studies. Besides, sects. Treisia and Medusae are not closely related in terms of seed characters, and this is not consistent with the results of recent molecular studies.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.329-338
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• 2008

Pollen morphological studies using light and scanning electron microscopy were conducted to determined the sub-sectional boundary and species relationship of 12 species of subsect. Meleuphorbia and related taxa. Based on the sculpturing patterns of pollen grains and UPGMA tree from numerical analyses using 8 quantitative pollen characters 12 species were divided into two types: type I, having microperforate pollen grains in E. epicyparissias, E. inermis, E. pillansii, E. obesa, E. bubalina, E. meloformis, E. nesemanii, and E. jansenvillensis, and type II, having fossulate sculpturing pattern in E. longituberculosa, E. monteiri, E. caput-medusae and E. grantii. The resulting pollen data suggest that the subsect. Meleuphorbia should not be a natural group, but closely related to the species from subsect. Anthacantha and sect. Treisia and sect. Medusea. Thus, the pollen morphological data recommended to combine above taxa as a single taxonomic group.