Cypselar study of some representative taxa from tribe heliantheae (asteraceae)

Morphological structure and different characters of Cypsela is most important from the taxonomic point of view. Cypsela study has been utilized by many authors successfully for the delimitation of genera and species within the family Asteraceae. Present study with 16 representative species indicated that the Cypsela structure is highly variable in the tribe Heliantheae bearing different characters viz. barbellate awns, glandular and sclerifiedpalea, dimorphic Cypsela, winged or spiny margin, fibrous and tuberculate Cypsela, pappus present. Such characters have taxonomic significance, not only at generic but at species level also. Certain taxa shows some peculiar characteristics that can distinguish them at first glance. In this study an attempt has been made to prepare an artificial key for the identification.