Morphological and Anatomical Investigations on the Saponaria kotschyi Boiss. (Caryophyllaceae)

The morphological, anatomical and micromorphological features of Saponaria kotschyi Boiss. have been studied on plants collected from Osmangazi University-Meşelik Campus, Eskişehir. S. kotschyi is an endemic species and a new record from Eskişehir. In general, the results obtained from morphological studies were consistent with the description given in the Flora of Turkey, except for the calyx, as the calyx of S. kotschyi flowers not only had glandular hairs but also eglandular hairs. The anatomical studies on cross-sections of the root, stem, leaves and surface sections of leaves were presented and compared with previous findings. Furthermore, the micromorphological properties of the seed, leaves and pollen grains have been investigated by SEM and illustrations provided.