Article

Biologists have long been fascinated by the study of pollen grains. They have used their great intra- and interspecific diversity as an indicator to reconstitute and interpret ancient and modern plants and environmental conditions. Objective:This study aimed to investigate Palynological research of thirteen (13) Fabaceae species (Afzelia africana Sm. & Pers, Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Sw, Cassia sieberiana DC, Daniellia oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch. & Dalziel, Detarium senegalensis J. Gmelin, Dialium guineensis Willd, Faidherbia albida Del.Chev, Parkia biglobosa Jacq.Benth, Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir, Senna alata L, Senna occidentalis (L.) Link, Senna siamea (Lam) and Tamarindus indica L) which occur in the lower Casamance forest (Senegal). Pollen grains were acetolyzed and observed both qualitatively and quantitatively through light microscopy. The results showed that Fabaceae are eurypalinous, dispersed in monads, subcircular polyads, subspherical and subtriangular forms, reticulate, tricolporate apertures. The polar axis, equatorial diameter of the pollen grains, colpus length and width were measured. The smallest pollen grain size was found in Dialium guineense (16.00 x 18.00 ¨µm), while the largest pollen size was found in Parkia biglobosa (94.00 x 94.00 µm). The ornamentation of the exine is thick reticulate, fine, scabrous, pseudoreticulate, cracked ectexine, reticulate with granular cytoplasm, striato reticulate, reticulate with large apertures, and fine exine with thick striations.Although pollen characteristics within the Fabaceae family are generally similar, variations in the apertures and surface ornamentation of pollen grains provide useful criteria for distinguishing between species.