Plantago lanceolata L. Seed Coat Variation and Its Implications on the Usage of Seed Micromorphology Among Widespread Taxa
Abstract
Seed coat micromorphology has been great help in systematic studies over the past century. It is useful in most plant groups, including the widespread taxa. Although phenotypic plasticity in plants is a well-known phenomenon, there are not many micromorphological studies investigating whether plants with wide distribution areas show variation in seed coat characteristics. Plantago lanceolata L. (Plantaginaceae), as one of the most widespread Plantago taxa, is used in this study to investigate the presence of seed microsculpture variation among different populations. The seeds of 50 populations from across Turkey were analyzed using Stereomicroscope and SEM. Some seed surface characters of P. lanceolata were found to be consistent (cell shapes and anticlinal wall shapes), whereas others were variable (anticlinal walls, periclinal walls and surface sculpture). Irregularly wrinkled surface is reported in P. lanceolata seeds for the first time in this study. No correlation between geographical differences and seed characters were found. These results indicate that caution should be taken when dealing with widespread taxa with high levels of variation.
Keywords
Micromorphology, Plantago, SEM, Seed coat
Thanks
I would like to thank the curator of ISTF for providing the specimens for this study. I also would like to thank Rachel Mollman for reading the initial manuscript.
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