The comparative morphological, anatomical and palynological studies on the genus helleborus (Ranunculaceae) growing in Turkey

In the present study, the morphological, anatomical, and palynological characteristics of H. orientalis Lam. and H. vesicarius Aucher (endemic) were studied and compared. The root structures, branching shape, the distance between internodes, basal and stem leave dimensions, detailed descriptions of leaves, detailed new morphological characters of flowers and sepals were added to plant descriptions. Their anatomical structures were visualized under a light microscope and compared for the first time with detailed micro-anatomical measurements. Pollen images were shown for the first time by using the Scanning Electron Microscopy. It was found that the pollen types were tricolpate and tricolporate (rarely tricolpate), their shapes were subprolate and prolate-spheroidal, and their ornamentations were reticulate and microreticulate-foveolate.