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Abstract.:  The problem of the water content of pollen is reconsidered, especially the distinction between “partially hydrated pollen” (PH pollen), pollen with a water content greater than 30%, and “partially dehydrated pollen” (PD pollen), which has a water content of less than 30%. Both types have been found even in systematically contiguous groups or the same genus. Partially hydrated pollen, encountered in at least 40 families of angiosperms, has the advantage of germinating quickly, normally in a few minutes to less than an hour. Dispersal of highly hydrated pollen also occurs in orchids but for a different reason, i.e. to enable packaging of massulae. The disadvantage of pollen dispersed with a high water content is that water is readily lost and the pollen may desiccate and die unless it has biochemical or anatomical devices to retain water or phenological strategies, such as flowering when temperatures are not too high and when relative humidity is high. Most pollen of Gymnosperms and Angiosperms studied has, however, been found partially dehydrated.

The problems involved in applying histochemical and cytochemical methods to mature angiosperm pollen for bright light and fluorescence microscopy are discussed. These methods can be used for general examination or to reveal particular structures or groups of substances. The main methods of testing pollen viability and germinability based on stains and semiquantitative methods are also reviewed. The main methods of staining and their applications are summarised.

Some aspects of pollen cytology at dispersal were studied in 12 species of gymnosperms. The pollen grains differed in: 1. volume and cell number; 2. polarization of external structure and internal cell components; 3. wall thickness, especially of the intine, and the resulting percentage of cell volume with respect to total pollen grain volume; 4. stratification and chemical nature of the various intine layers; 5. nature and location of polysaccharide reserves; 6. morphological differences between the dry and hydrated states and phenomena related to hydration; 7. presence and site of orbicles. The various characters are compared and discussed in relation to the length of the reproductive cycle and the relations between the male gametophyte and its female counterpart.

It appears that the tapetum is universally present in land plants, even though it is sometimes difficult to recognize, because it serves mostly as a tissue for meiocyte/spore nutrition. In addition to this main function, the tapetum has other functions, namely the production of the locular fluid, the production and release of callase, the conveying of P.A.S. positive material towards the loculus, the formation of exine precursors, viscin threads and orbicules (= Ubisch bodies), the production of sporophytic proteins and enzymes, and of pollenkitt/tryphine. Not all these functions are present in all land plants:Embryophyta. Two main tapetal types are usually distinguished in theSpermatophyta: the secretory or parietal type and the amoeboid or periplasmodial type; in lower groups, however, other types may be recognized, with greater or lesser differences. A hypothetical phylogenesis of the tapetum is proposed on the basis of its morphological appearance and of the nutritional relations with meiocytes/spores. The evolutionary trends of the tapeta tend towards a more and more intimate and increasingly greater contact with the spores/pollen grains. Three evolutionary trends can be recognized: 1) an intrusion of the tapetal cells between the spores, 2) a loss of tapetal cell walls, and 3) increasing nutrition through direct contact in narrow anthers.

Summary Ultrastructural aspects of pore development inParietaria officinalis L. pollen are described. The main feature is the presence of intine wall projections formed in correspondence to the pores during the late microspore stage and persisting in the shedding pollen. This structure coexists with the tubules occurring in the pore and first appearing as evaginations of the plasma membrane.

NIR reflectance spectroscopy was applied to the identification of plant drugs. It was possible to satisfactorily distinguish ginseng, Silybwn marianum and grape seeds, directly analysing the product in its finished form. It was possible to identify Silybum samples grown in different areas. Ginseng samples containing starch were identified and old and young roots were distinguishable. Semiquantitative assay of ginsenoside content was possible.

Sections of Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam. ripe fruits were examined by U.V. microscopy under U.V. 365 nm light and under mixed U.V. 365 nm and visible light. The examination revealed a substance with blue autofluorescence inside the primary rib channels; a blue colour was shown also by the endosperm, whilst vittae were empty. In sections extracted with a selective method for the furanochromones khellin and visnagin, the substance filling primary rib channels was completely dissolved, and the colour of endosperm faded. The extract was analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography: the solubilized materials were composed almost exclusively of khellin and visnagin. These data are in contrast with the previous consensus which considered coumarins and coumarin-like compounds to be located in the vittae of Umbelliferae fruits, and never present in endosperms, whilst primary rib channels were thought empty in ripe fruits.