Pollen morphology and variability among Indian cultivars of Chrysanthemum morifolium and comparative analysis with genera of the Asteraceae family

Chrysanthemums are important worldwide for their beauty and medicinal uses. This research analyzes the pollen morphology of 134 Chrysanthemum morifolium cultivars using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Key pollen characteristics such as shape, spine length, ornamentation, and aperture type were observed in detail, highlighting the effectiveness of SEM in species and cultivar identification based on pollen features. Multivariate analyses, including hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis, categorized the cultivars according to their pollen traits. Notable findings among Chrysanthemum morifolium cultivars included Punjab Gold with larger pollen size, IAH Red with an equatorial diameter of 25.14 μm, and Kundan distinguished by a spine length of 13.42 μm. These differences suggest environmental factors may influence the observed variation. Comparison with other Asteraceae members, using data from the PalDat database, underscored the distinctiveness of chrysanthemum pollen morphology, validating its use as a classification tool. Pollen morphology study is vital for understanding plant biology, including reproduction, biodiversity, ecological interactions, and environmental adaptation. The findings have practical applications in agriculture and horticulture, enhancing knowledge of plant taxonomy and classification.