Practicality of Seed Morpho-anatomical Characters for the Identification of Species Alyssum (Brassicaceae) in Turkey: a Systematic Approach

Abstract

In this work, morphological and anatomical features of seeds of 15 Alyssum taxa (A. caricum, A. davisianum, A. filiforme, A. haussknechtii, A. murale subsp. murale var. murale, A. simplex, A. sibiricum, A. desertorum, A. hirsutum subsp. hirsutum, A. minutum, A. strictum, A. strigosum subsp. strigosum, A. szowitsianum, A. dasycarpum and A. linifolium var. linifolium) from Turkey were examined with the cluster analysis, and the systematic importance of these characteristics was assessed. The findings exhibited that there were variations among the taxa with respect to seed form, color, and wing existence. The seed dimensions were between 0.43 -2.12 mm in length, and between 0.34 -2.05 mm in width. A. davisianum and A. filiforme were remarkably distinct from others in terms of seed dimension, the first having the smallest and the second having the largest seeds. The surface ornamentation was categorized as nine types; reticulate-foveate, scalariform, tuberculate, alveolate, reticulate-alveolate, aculate, ruminate, verrucate and rugose. The most common type was alveolate, however; tuberculate and rugose types were taxon specific. Also, formation and thicknesses in testa and endosperm layers were studied anatomically. Seed morphological and anatomical features with a few exclusions revealed variety and they were of the taxonomic significance in discrimination of the studied taxa.