Pollen of Nigerian Plants

Pollen grains of 40 Nigerian woody species which are among the ecological indicator species of forest and savanna vegetation communities are described and illustrated with both LM and SEM micrographs (37). Where appropriate, observations made here are compared with those of some earlier investigators. Eight species were di- or polymorphic with respect to aperture number. The use of SEM greatly enhanced the characterisation and interpretation of pollen morphological features, particularly where these features were indistinct or not detectable in LM. This second part of the series on the pollen flora of Nigeria, as was the first, is expected to be useful in plant taxonomy, Quaternary palaeoecology and petroleum exploration as well as in archaeological research and the honey industry.