Abstract:Pollen morphology of 11 Bauhinia species endemic to China has been studied by light and scanning electron microscopy. A considerable variation in pollen morphology was observed among the investigated species, particularly in exine oranmentation and characters of the apertures. Pollen grains are tricolporate, but some of them are both tricolporate and syncolpate as in B. damiaoshanensis and B. quinanensis. All pollen grains are semitectate. Ornamentation are rugulose, rugulose-perforate, verrucose, foveolate-perforate, perforate-reticulate and reticulate. Based on exine ornamentation, two subtypes, Aurea subtype and Paucinervata subtype, are established under Integrifolia type of Larsent's classification.
