An anatomical, morphological and palynological study on Dianthus anatolicus Boiss. and Dianthus tripunctatus Sm.(Caryophyllaceae)

In our study, the morphological, anatomical and palynological features of Dianthus anatolicus and D. tripunctatus species distributed in Turkey were investigated comparatively. D. anatolicus is a perennial and D. tripunctatis is an herbaceous annual taxon. In the study, taxa were tried to be introduced by determining the morphological, anatomical and palynological features of both species. Samples belonging to the taxa were collected from within the borders of Manisa and some of them were turned into herbarium specimens. Species can be easily distinguished from each other by their morphological features such as plant height, calyx and petal length. The anatomical structures of both taxa are generally similar to each other and they are compatible with the anatomical structure of the Caryophyllaceae family. D. tripunctatus differs from the studied perennial taxon with the general appearance of the stem section in that it has a nearly square shape due to the denser formation of sclerenchyma cells. There are prominent druze crystals on the stem and leaf sections of both taxa. Vascular tissues cover a very large area in root and stem sections of taxa. D. anatolicus, which is perennial, has a highly developed peridermis and xylem structure compared to other annual taxa. Obtained results are shown with photographs and tables. The pollen of the species specimens were prepared using the Wodehouse method and examined under the light microscope. Pollens of both species are tektate, surface ornamentations are microechinate (spinulose)-punctate, pollen shapes are spheroidal. The pore diameter is larger in D. anatolicus. Both types can be used to prevent erosion according to their habitat. Keywords: Anatomy, Caryophyllaceae, Dianthus anatolicus, D. tripunctatus, Morphology, Pollen