Abstract

Tile pollen morphology of 29 species of Cayaponia (Cucurbitaceae) nativc in Brazil and one native species in México was studied. The pollen grains were prepared using the acetolysis method for light microscope observations. In sequence, the acetolysed pollen grains were dehydrated and gold sputtered for surfaccs analysis using scanning electrón microscopy. Fivc pollen types in accordance lo pollen grain size and number of apertures and in addition 9 sub-types related to spine indices could be established. Species are characterized by the spine configurations. A pollen key was elaborated for species identification based on light microscope observations only. In some cases several species were forming a single pollen sub-type.