Pollen morphology of some bee forage plants from Pauni tahsil of Bhandara district (Maharashtra state)

Present study was undertaken from January 2016 to December 2016 in Pauni region of Bhandara District (Maharashtra state). Pollen load from 43 flowering plants belonging to 23 families, which were frequently visited by honeybees, was collected. Morphological features of the collected pollen samples were studied under microscope and observations were recorded. It was observed that the plants belonging to the family Papilionaceae exhibited considerable morphological diversity in pollens. Pollen grains from plants belonging to family Asteraceae have shown spinolous spherical shapes, whereas, that from family Combrataceae were found to be colporate, prolate, spheroid in shape, with radial symmetry. Variation in symmetry, position and distribution of aperture, exine and sculpture of the pollen wall was also observed. Species from family Bombacaceae showed colporate, prolate, per-oblate pollen grains with bilateral symmetry, while the pollens from different species of family Myrtaceae were of colporate and prolate types, while colporate, prolate and perprolate types of pollen with bilateral symmetry were observed in the plants belonging to family Apiaceae.