Article

A pollen analysis was carried out on 138 samples from 19 taxa of Genista sect. Spartioides. The taxa were compared in terms of quantitative and qualitative characters, examined by LM and SEM. The combined analysis of the pollen characters allows to notice some differences among the species. The western and eastern taxa of the section appear distinguishable. Among the western ones, a grouping is highlighted including G. cinerea (various subspecies), G. majorica and G. ramosissima, which corresponds to ser. Spartioides of subsect. Spartioides. The other series of the subsection, ser. Floridae Cantó, Rivas-Martínez, Greinwald & van Rensen, is not homogeneous: G. obtusiramea emerges as the most distinct species of the whole section; G. cinerascens, described by Gibbs (1966) as a variety of G. cinerea, differs from G. cinerea s.l.; the Moroccan populations of G. florida (ascribed to subsp. maroccana) differ from the Iberic ones. Subsect. Chamaespartum Cantó, Rivas-Martínez, Greinwald & van Rensen proves to be heterogeneous as well. G. pilosa, the only widely distributed species of the section, is more similar to the western taxa, and acts as a trait d’union with the eastern ones. Among the eastern taxa, the pollen analysis supports the distinction of the two examined subspecies of G. pulchella (pulchella and villarsiana), and of the two varieties of G. albida (albida and godetii); G. involucrata, belonging to G. albida aggr., emerges as even more dissimilar. From the comparison of the data obtained in the present study with those formerly obtained on the taxa of G. sericea aggr., the specific rank of G. sakellariadis, G. halacsyi, G. subcapitata and G. millii is endorsed. The pollen analysis of the whole section is thus completed.