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INVESTIGATION OF SPORE MORPHOLOGY OF SOME POTTIACEAE

(SCHIMP.) TAXA (BRYOPHYTA) IN TURKEY

ISMUHAN POTOGLU ERKARA¹, FILIZ SAVAROGLU¹ ⃰, RAMAZAN TAN² AND SEVIL PEHLIVAN³

¹Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Art, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, 26480, Meselik, Eskisehir, Turkey

² Graduate School of Applied and Natural Science, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, 26480, Meselik, Eskisehir, Turkey

³Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Art, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

^⃰ Corresponding author’s e-mail: fbirgi@gmail.com; fbirgi@ogu.edu.tr

Abstract

Turkey is one of the centres of diversity for bryophytes. Since spore morphology is beneficial in taxonomy, this study consists of the spore morphology of nine Pottiaceae taxa. The purpose of the study is to provide the detailed taxonomical, morphological and ecological characterization of the Pottiaceae family in Turkey. The spores of the Syntrichia calcicola J.J. Amann, S. montana Nees, Tortula canescens Mont., T. inermis (Brid.) Mont., T. lanceola R. H. Zander, T. modica R. H. Zander, T. muralis Hedw., T. subulata Hedw., and T. truncata (Hedw.) Mitt. types have been studied under light and through scanning electron microscopes. The aperture region of all the spores is composed of a leptoma. The spore morphology of the examined taxa of the family are of six types depending on the sclerine ornamentation – granulate, granulate-pliate, verrucate, baculate-verrucate, rugulate, and rugulate-verrucate. The shape of the spore is prolate-spheroidal. The spore dimensions of the studied taxa of the Pottiaceae family vary from 5 to 42 µm. The examined species belong to the saxicolous and terrestrial habitat. The taxonomic and ecological content of the Pottiaceae family has been discussed on the basis of spore morphology.

Key words: Bryophyta, Pottiaceae, spore morphology, light microscope (LM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Turkey.