Study on pollen grain and ovule developmental properties in Centaurea iberica Trevir. ex Spreng

In botanical and taxonomical science embryological studies are specially important. In this research, developmental stages of pollen grains and ovules were studied in Centaurea iberica. The flower and buds in different developmental stages were removed, fixed in FAA, stored in 70% ethanol, embedded in paraffin and sliced with a microtome. Staining was done with Hematoxilin and Eosin. The prepared slides from different developmental stages were studied carefully using a light microscope. On the basis of this research results, ovule was anatropous, bitegumic and tenuinucellate. The development of the embryo sac followed the mono-sporic, polygonum type. After the meiosis, megaspore tetrads had linear arrangement. First, embryo sac was very small, so that its nuclei were compressed linearly but in maturation progress, embryo sac sustained longitude growth considerably. The anther was tetra-sporangiate. InC. iberica, the tapetum was plasmodial with bi-nucleate cells. In species microspore tetrads were observed with tetrahedral, tetragonal and linear arrangement. Pollen grains were two-celled and tricolpate.