TAXONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF EXTERNAL POLLEN MORPHOLOGY TO VERNONIA (COMPOSITAE) IN THE WEST INDIES

External pollen morphology of 39 species of West Indian Vernonias was examined by light and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with a systematic revision of these species. There were three distinct types of pollen: Type A: subechinolophate, tricolporate grains with prominent spines; Type B: echinolophate, tricolporate with expanded germinal furrows and coincident polar muri; Type C: echinolophate, tricolporate grains with prominent polar lacunae. Pollen grains intermediate between the major types were found in several species. These same species had very distinct and atypical megamorphologies. In general, pollen types were found to correlate well with classification based on megamorphological characters, particularly at the infrageneric level, and to provide confirmation of subsectional assignments in the genus.