Investigation of seed surfaces in some Onobrychis Miller (fFabaceae) species

The characters of seed micromorphology are important features of taxonomic value. Studies in recent years have revealed the importance of the seed micromorphology characters in evaluating the species. In this study, seed morphology of 20 taxa belonging to 19 species of the genus Onobrychis growing naturally in Turkey were comparatively examined stereo and scanning electron microscopes. As a result of the study, species-specific characters have been determined. Seeds exhibit variation in size, shape, surface ornamentations and colour. Seeds ranged from 1.707 to 4.590 mm in length and 1.221 to 3.330 mm in width. Four different seed shapes were found, as ovate, sphaerical, reniform and ellipsoid. Reticulate-foveate, aculeate-verrucate, reticulate, rugose-reticulate and rugose-favulariate surface ornamentation were observed in the studied species. Seeds colors are usually chestnut-brown, glandaceus, red-brown or cinnamon. According to the results, seed characters, such as the size, the shape, the surface ornamentation and the colour appear to have low taxonomic value in distinguishing sections and species. Keywords: Fabaceae, Seed Morphology, SEM