MICROMORPHOLOGY OF SEED IN SOME VICIA TAXA BELONGING TO SECTION CRACCA FROM AZERBAIJAN

Abstract

For the first time, some taxa of the genus Vetch ( Vicia L.) belonging to subgenus Vicilla and section Cracca (according to the system of Kupicha) from the Azerbaijan were subjected to morphological and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analyses: V. tenuifolia Roth subsp. variabilis (Freyn & Sint. ex Freyn) Dinsm., V. villosa subsp. villosa Roth, V. villosa Roth subsp. varia (Host) Corb. (V. dasycarpa auct.), V. monantha Retz. (V. cinerea M. Bieb.), V. elegans Guss. Seed patterns were collected in 2015-2017 from different region of Azerbaijan (Zagatala, Ordubad and Shamakhi). In all seed samples, the seed’s surface was papillate. However, the size of the ribs in the papillas and the density of papillas were different in different taxa. The papillae with medium density were observed in V. tenuifolia subsp. variabilis. Dense papilla were observed in V. villosa subsp. villosa , V. villosa subsp. varia , V. monantha and V. elegans. V. villosa subsp. varia had conical, multirib papillas with waxy specks. However, small conical multirib were observed in V. tenuifolia subsp. variabilis and V. monantha . Conical multirib was found in V. villosa subsp. villosa and broad conical in V. elegans. Ovate hilum was observed in V. villosa subsp. varia. Oblong-elliptic hilum is peculiar to V. tenuifolia subsp. variabilis , V. villosa subsp. villosa , V. monantha , and V. elegans . The largest seeds are found in V. tenuifolia subsp. variabilis , and the smallest ones in V. villosa subsp. varia . Detected micromorphological features play an important role in the determination of different taxa of the genus Vicia L.