Abstract
The pollen morphology of 45 taxa belonging to 15 sections of the genus Scorzonera distributed in Turkey were studied with light and electron microscopies. The pollen is generally 3-zonocolporate. Pollen grains are oblate-spheroidal with the polar axes 23.2–59.2 µm and the equatorial axes 27–62.5 µm. The outline is more or less circular to slightly elliptic in equatorial view and triangular or obtuse-hexagonal in polar view; amb semiangular to intersemiangular. Sculpturing is echinolophate. The spines are commonly concave-conical with a broad basis, sides are straight or slightly convex with a subacute tapered apical portion. Numerical analysis showed that polar axes, equatorial axes and exine thickness are valuable variables for seperating the examined taxa.