Seed morphology of Eriocaulon (Eriocaulaceae) in Thailand

The seed morphologies of forty-five Eriocaulon species and infraspecies in Thailand are described in detail. Characteristics of the seed were carefully investigated via LM and SEM, including shape, size, shapes of both ends and colour. Details of the seed coat, testa cell shape, axis of elongation, alignment, ridges formed where adjacent cells are in contact, surface ornamentation and the presence and morphology of appendages arising from the cell walls, were all recorded. Combinations of these characters are effective for species delimitation and identification. Similarities in seed coat characters and the relationships of floral structure between closely related taxa are discussed. Hygroscopic seed coat appendages are recorded and described for Eriocaulon for the first time.