The Importance of Morphology and Palynology of Two Species of Amaranthus Found in Awka South Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Study was carried out on the morphology of Amaranthus hybridus and Amaranthus spinosus. This is to find out the form and structure of the two species of Amaranthus under study and also to discover the areas of the walls of the two species where the walls are thinner or softer. The vegetative study was done in the field and in the laboratory by visual observation on the quantitative characters and analysed using a statistical test to compare the means of the two samples (T.test). A. hybridus has small fine hairs, robust, longitudinally rigid and greenish colour as it is commonly called, while A. spinosus has smooth stem, cylindrical and are mostly reddish in colour with spikes attached above the base of the petiole. The result of the pollen analysis of the two species showed no significant statistical difference in the sizes of the apertures in the pollen, though A. hybridus has a greater number than A. spinosus. The overall analysis showed there was no significant difference existing in the morphology of the two species. The slight difference existing in the morphology likewise palynology signifies their separation into different species while the similarities justify their placement under the genus Amaranthus.