Article

Tbe pollen morphology of the Italian species of the genus Sanfolina was examined: S. corsica Jordan & Fourr., S. etrusca (Lacaita) Marchi & D'Amato, S. insularis (Genn. ex Fiori) Arrigoni, S. leucantha Berto!., S. tigustica Arrigoni and S. neapolitana Jordan & Fourr. S. marchii Arrigoni, a plant of unknown origin which has become widespread, and grows spontaneously throughout Italy was also examined. Despite a generai similarity among the different species, the pollen grains are individually distinguishable by the number and distribution of their spines. SEM observations can identify the differential morphological characteristics of the spines and of the appearance of the exine surface. Numerical analysis of the most significant characters showed that the S. etrusca pollen differs from the other species and that certain similarities exist between the S. leucantha pollen and S. neapo!itana pollen. Tbe morphology of S. marchii pollen is more similar to that of S. corsica than to that or the other species.