Glossary of Terminology for pollen characterization

Angulaperturate: Grain with angular polar outline and apertures situated at angles Aperture: Well defined thin or missing part of exine, mostly independent of exine pattern Apocolpium: Area at the pole of a zonocolpate grain delimited by the ends of colpi. Colporate: With oriferous colpi. Colporoidate: colpi with indistinct ora. Colpus (pl. colpi): A rneridional elliptic aperture resembling a groove or furrow. Costa (pl. costae): A thickening of the endexine with or without foot layer near an aperture. Diaperturate: With two apertures. Dyad: Two grains united. Echina (pl.echinae): Any sharp pointed sculpturing element. Equatorial axis: Axis perpendicular to polar axis. Equatorial view: View of zono aperturate grain where the equatorial plane is directed Exine: The sporopolleneous outer thick layer of pollen wall Fossaperturate: Grain with apertures situated at sinuses formed by mesocolpia. prominently semicirc~~lar Gemma (pi. gemmae): Sculpturing element with width approximately the same as height and constricted at its base.

Prepared by BeeHive Digital Concepts Cochin for Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam

Inaperturate: Grain without aperture. Lumen (pl. lumina): A gap or space between walls of a reticulate, striate or rugulate sculpturing. Margo: Zone around an aperture formed by the sudden thinning or thickening of ectexint?with or without foot layer. Meridional: Line of direction perpendicular to the equatorial plane applied to denote the surface features of aperture. Mesocolpium: The area of grain surface between two adjacent colpi. Mesoporium: The area of grain surface between two adjacent pori. Microreticulate: Sculpturing with reticula <= 1p m in diameter Monad: A single grain separated in course of development from a tetrad. Monoaperturate: Grain with one aperture. Murus (pl. muri): A ridge or wall separating two lumina of reticulate, striate or rugulate sculpturing. Operculum (pl. opercula): Thick membrane covering a pore or colpus, sometimes sculptured similar to ectexine. 0 s (pl. ora): Inner part of a composite aperture or equatorially arranged pores. Pantaperturate: Graln with global apertures arranged with or without definite pattern Parasyncolpate: Grain with colpi bifurcating at their ends and meeting each other by leaving an intact apocolpium at pole. Perforate: Sculpturing with tectum pierced by small holes having less than
1um in diameter.

Prepared by BeeHive Digital Concepts Cochin for Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam

Planaperturate: Grain with angular polar outline and aperture situated at midpoints of more or less straight mesocolpia. Polar axis: An imaginary straight line connecting the distal and proximal poles of a grain. Polar view: View of a zono aperturate grain where polar axis is directed towards the observer. Polyad : More than fo,urgrains united in a group. breadth Porus (pl. pori): A circular or slightly elliptic aperture with a length I ratio <2. Pseudocolpus: Colpoid stread formed by exinal thinning or opening and not associated with intinal thickening. Pseudosyncolpate: Grain with syncolpia not formed by fusion of colpi but by fusion of the extension of opercular ends of colpi. Psilate: Sculpturing with completely smooth surface. Reticulum (pl.reticula) : Sculpturing having a network or mesh like pattern. Rugulate: Sculpturing with elements elongated sideways having length greater than twice breadth; elements with very irregular distribution. Scabra (pl.scabrae): Very small, isodiametric sculpturing element less than
I pm.

Semitectate: Partial absence of tecturn in sculpturing ie. perforations in the tectum are wider than or equal to the areas between the holes. Striate: Sculpturing with a pattern consisting of approximately parallel muri and lumina. Syncolpate : Grain with two or more colpi fused at their ends on poles.

Prepared by BeeHive Digital Concepts Cochin for Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam

Tetrad: Four grains united in a group. Verruca (pl. verrucae): Wart like sculpturing process usually broader than high and never constricted at base ie. nearly hemispherical. Vestibulum (pl. vestibula): Small chamber formed by the ectexine and endexine with or without foot layer splitting apart each other in the vicinity of aperture. Zonoaperturate: Grain with apertures arranged in an equatorial zone.

Prepared by BeeHive Digital Concepts Cochin for Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam