Open AccessPollen morphology and variability of invasive Spiraea tomentosa L. (Rosaceae) from populations in Poland
Author(s) -
Dorota WrońskaPilarek,
Blanka Wiatrowska,
Jan Bocianowski
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0218276
Subject(s) - pollen , biology , intraspecific competition , inflorescence , botany , operculum (bryozoa) , rosaceae , zoology , genus
The aim of this study was to investigate the pollen morphology and the ranges of intraspecific and interindividual variability of the North American steeplebush— Spiraea tomentosa L., an invasive species in Poland. Steeplebush inflorescences were collected randomly from 30 localities of S . tomentosa in Poland. In total, 900 pollen grains were analysed with both a light and a scanning electron microscope. Nine quantitative and three qualitative pollen features were studied. The diagnostic features were: exine ornamentation (size and direction of the muri), operculum and perforation size. For the first time, the intraspecific and interindividual variability of the pollen grains of the highly invasive S . tomentosa were investigated. Pollen grain features were so similar, that they did not allow to differentiate individual samples of S . tomentosa and only groups of samples were recognized.