A survey of pollen morphology in Euphorbiaceae with special reference to Phyllanthus

The Euphorbiaceae is a very large family, but the number of publications containing descriptions of pollen grains relatively low. Especially the category of monographic papers is poorly represented. The Webster system is discussed in relation to pollen morphology. It appears that four subfamilies are characterized by a basic pollen type; the subfamily Acalyphoideae is an exception to this generalization. Webster's contribution to the classification of the subgenus Phyllanthus is illustrated with pollen morphological results.