Taxonomic significance of cypselas morphology in the tribe Coreopsideae (Asteraceae) from Pakistan and Kashmir

The present studies dealt with the cypselas morphology of 11 species representing 4 genera of the tribe Coreopsideae (Asteraceae) from Pakistan and Kashmir. The following parameters of the cypselas viz., color, shape, surface, degree of pubescence, base, presence or absence of beak, awns, wings, and carpopodium have been examined by stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The detailed cypselas morphological description of all the studied taxa along artificial keys of genera and species are given. SEM micrographs are provided to clearly show the diagnostic characters. The outcome results of cypselas morphological characters have been analyzed statistically by using SPSS 21, to search out the correlation between cypselas characters and gross morphological characters as well as to find the close affinities among the studied taxa of the tribe Coreopsideae from the study area. The present findings conclude that the cypsela characters can be used as diagnostic taxonomic characters for the delimitation of taxa.