Taxonomic implication of nut diversity in selected Cyperaceae species of Pakistan

Abstract

Cyperaceae, commonly known as a sedge family, is widely distributed and is cosmopolitan, it is the third largest
among the monocots. It has great ecological and ethnobotanical value but the taxonomic classification of the
family at both morphological and molecular level is not much studied. The species resemble a lot and hence are
very difficult to differentiate without proper identification. For the taxonomic implication of nut (one of the
important parts of inflorescence) in plant identification, sixteen different sedge species were collected from
various parts of the country. They were analyzed under stereo and scanning electron microscope to understand
the differences among nut characters which help to differentiate among species of the same family. The three most
important characteristics considered were Nut shape, size and color. All the species showed variation enabling
identification easily. The surface of nut was also observed under the scanning electron microscope and showed
great variation. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed to check the impact of characters on the
grouping of the species. Based on the results of this study, it can be said that nuts play a very important role in the
identification and classification of the plant on a morphological and micromorphological basis.