Anatomical and palynological studies on Turkish Primula taxa (Primulaceae) and their taxonomic and phylogenetic significance

Anatomical (scape, pedicel, leaf lamina, and leaf midrib) and pollen morphological features of 11 taxa belonging to the genus Primula subgen. Primula (P. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, P. vulgaris subsp. rubra, and P.megaseifolia, P. meyeri,P. elatior subsp. pallasii, P. pseudoelatior, P. veris subsp. columnae, P. veris subsp. macrocalyx) and subgen. Aleurita (P. longipes, P. algida and P. auriculata) were examined using light and scanning electron microscopy to shed light on the existing taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships. The anatomical and palynological features of the majority of the taxa studied were revealed for the first time in this study. In anatomical studies, the very large intercellular space under the epidermis and the number of sclerenchyma layers in the scape anatomy and the midrib shape in the leaf lamina anatomy were found to be of taxonomic importance in the subgenus level. In palynological studies, pollen grains size, pollen surface ornamentation pattern and pollen aperture types could be used as important characters to distinguish species, sections and subgenera. Significant differences were found between subgenera and between the pollen grains of pin and thrum flowers of the same taxon. Mostly, the subgen. Aleurita taxa were significantly smaller pollen grains than the subgen. Primula taxa, and pollen grains from flowers with pin morphology was smaller than from flowers with thrum morphology. Our studies showed that both anatomical and palynological features have not only taxonomic but also phylogenetic importance.