Palynological characterization of selected herbaceous plants in the lesser Himalaya of Azad Jammu and Kashmir

This study provides taxonomic significance of palyno-morphology in context of identifying floral diversity and their pollen types in herbaceous plants of Lesser Himalayan region of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan). The consideration of taxonomic correlations enhances the accuracy of plant identification and classification was crucial for biodiversity conservation and ecological research in this mountainous region. The current work was aims to explored the microscopic pollen grains morphological features using light and scanning electron microscopic tools. Microscopic research included 17 selected species belonging to different plant families that were collected, submitted to ISL Herbarium and then their pollen grains were acetolyzed. The most abundant pollen shape observed was oblate-spheroidal (six species) followed by sub-oblate (four species) and sub-prolate in three species. The maximum exine thickness was noted in Gerbera gossypoina (4.75 µm) and minimum in Allium jacequemongtii (2.00 µm). Mesocolpium distance was measured highest for Gerbera gossypina (18 µm) and lowest for Ageratum houstonianum (10.40 µm). Pollen exine wall stratification was examined of striate, reticulate, echinate regulate and perforate types. The highest pollen fertility was estimated for Plantago lenceolata (92%). The maximum P/E ratio index was calculated for Arabis alpina (1.30). This microscopic pollen bioimaging variations were analyzed using statistical clustering PAST 3 software that provided in-depth data variance. This study of herbaceous flora contributes to the pollination biology for the further systematic observation to fill the knowledge gaps for accurate identification by visualizing classical microscopic taxonomic characters.