Introduction to Pollen Spore Research

The family Cucurbitaceae is unique in many morphological characters and has received considerable attention at the hands of Indian workers. In India its members occur in wild form and are also widely cultivated for their fruits which are a rich source of vegetable and dessert. Palynologically the family is quite interesting. The characters of pollen morphology have proved useful in identification and in solving taxonomic problems. These have been used effectively in the classification of family in recent years. Physiologically also cucurbit pollen has remarkable features of a polysiphouous germination, branching of pollen tube and its persistence. There are several studies on pollen germination, pollen tube growth and pollen storage. All this information occurs in research publications in different journals.