Interspecific and Intraspecific Variation in Pollen Grains of Quercus Subgenus Lepidobalanus Endl. in Korea

Palynological characters such as pollen grain polar axis length (PL), pollen equatorial diameter (ED), colpus length, colpus width, and P/E ratio of six species of Quercus subgenus Lepidobalanus Endl. from Korea were studied. A significant interspecific variation, unequal distances between the species, and various degree of intraspecific variations were found. The taxonomic value of the pollen morphology parameters measured was found to vary according to species. These results suggest a possible relationship between parameters measured and ploidy level of the Quercus species studied.