The seeds of 32 specimens belonging to 15 species from 2 sections of the genus Epilobium L. (Onagraceae Juss.) were studied by both a light and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Seed morphology of the examined specimens exhibits some variation in shape and size. Seed size ranges between mm and mm in length. | Turk J Bot 30 (2006) 435-440 © TÜB‹TAK Research Article Seed Morphology and Seed Coat Sculpturing of Epilobium L. Species (Onagraceae Juss.) from Iran Reza Sheikh AKBARI, Dina AZIZIAN* Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Beheshti University, Evin, Tehran - IRAN Received: Accepted: Abstract: The seeds of 32 specimens belonging to 15 species from 2 sections of the genus Epilobium L. (Onagraceae Juss.) were studied by both a light and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Seed morphology of the examined specimens exhibits some variation in shape and size. Seed size ranges between mm and mm in length. They are ovate, oblong-ovate, and narrowly ovate (ovate-attenuate). The results of SEM investigation of seed coat sculpturing also revealed 5 distinct types of surface structure of the seeds, which are mainly correlated to external morphology of the species. Key Words: Epilobium, Onagraceae, Seed coat, Seed morphology, SEM Introduction Materials and Methods The genus Epilobium L. is one of the largest genera in the family Onagraceae Juss., with about 185 species throughout the world (Raven, 1976) and 18 species in Iran. The genus contains 2 sections in the Flora Iranica area: Chamaenerion Tausch and Epilobium (Raven, 1964). The species of Epilobium are fairly uniform in external appearance and the genus is a taxonomically difficult group. In addition to vegetative and reproductive characteristics, the features of the seeds have long been employed as an important taxonomic feature within the genus, but most light microscopic examinations are concerned with general shape and size rather than details of surface ornamentation, as was Haussknecht (1884) in his comprehensive monograph of the genus made in an attempt to utilise seed morphology for diagnostic purposes. In recent years, various but limited studies on seed morphology have utilised scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (Berggren, 1974; Skvortsov & Rusanovitch, 1974; .
