Starchy pollen in Commelinoid monocots

The Commelinoid monocots are a monophyletic group comprising the Arecales, Commelinales, Poales and Zingiberales, plus the unplaced family Dasypogonaceae. Pollen from 149 taxa was examined qualitatively for starch as the primary storage product. Starchy pollen was found in 134 taxa (90 % of the sample) of Commelinoid monocots. Starchy pollen thus appears be a characteristic feature of the Commelinoid monocots. Starchy pollen can be easily observed with minimal preparation, making it a demonstrable character useful in the classroom or teaching laboratory. Furthermore, starchy pollen grains were found to be significantly larger in diameter than non-starchy grains, confirming previous hypotheses regarding pollen size and starch. (C) 2000 Annals of Botany Company.