Palynological Features as a Systematic Marker in Artemisia L. and Related Genera (Asteraceae, Anthemideae)

Using optical and scanning electron microscopy, we carried out a palynological study of some plant species with a systematic position that has been controversial. One of the taxa belongs to the genus Artemisia (Asteraceae, Anthemideae), but has been described in another genus (Artemisia incana/Tanacetum incanum). The remaining taxa have been named or combined in Artemisia but are now considered members of small genera mostly segregated from Artemisia (Ajania, Hippolytia, Kaschgaria, Lepidolopsis, Mausolea, Turaniphytum), or belong to very close genera (Brachanthemum, Sphaeromeria). We confirm the existence of two pollen morphological patterns ‐ concerning ornamentation ‐ in the tribe Anthemideae: one with long spines ( Anthemis type) and the other with short spinules ( Artemisia type). Artemisia and its related genera can also be divided into two groups according to this feature, which is a good taxonomic marker, well correlated with other morphological and molecular characters.