Pollen morphology and fertility of wild Atlas pistachio (Pistacia atlantica Desf., Anacardiaceae)

Pollen morphology and fertility in different populations of Pistacia atlantica from Algeria have been examined by light and scanning electron microscopy. Characteristics such as the shape and size of the pollen grains, the number of apertures, and the exine surface were recorded for each site for comparison. The pollen grains of Pistacia atlantica are consistently spheroidal to prolate spheroidal and pantoaperturate. The exine ornamentation is reticulate. Significant differences in pollen size and number of apertures were observed between the different sites. The fertility of pollen from different sites was estimated using the acetocarmine staining method and show that mean percentage of fertile pollen is high but varied among the sites with highest value (99.7%) at the Berriane site and lowest value (95.9%) at the Messaad site.