MORPHO - ANATOMICAL STUDIES OF CYPSELAS IN THE TRIBE SENECIONEAE(ASTERACEAE)

Abstract

Senecioneae is one of the unique tribes recognized by Cassini among the 43 tribes of Asteraceae. Present study is based on the morpho-anatomical characters of cypsela among one species each ofBarkleyanthus [Barkleyanthussalicifolius (Kunth) H. Robinson & Brettell], Packera [Packeradimorphophylla (Greene) W. A. Weber & Á. Löve] and Senecio (Senecioelegans L.)under the tribe Senecioneae. Morphological characters like apical part of the cypsela, surface hairs, structure of carpopodium, pappus bristles type and anatomical features such as pericarpic tissue arrangement, testal layers and endosperm are taxonomically significant. The studied characters has important role in isolation of taxa at species level. An artificial key is provided on the basis of macromorpho-anatomical features of cypselas for identification of the studied species. The objective of the present study is to analyse the detailed morpho-anatomical structures of the cypselas and also to show the relationships among them.