Seed morphology data for Orchis canariensis and Orchis patens

Dataset of seed mesures for Orchis canariensis and Orchis patens used in the publication:

"SEED MICROMORPHOLOGY SUPPORTS SPECIES DELIMITATION OF ORCHIS CANARIENSIS (ORCHIDACEAE), AN ENDEMIC ORCHID FROM CANARY ISLANDS" - Nature Conservation Research

By Jacopo Calevo, Miriam Bazzicalupo, Cristina González-Montelongo, Daniel Rodríguez González, Laura Cornara

Abstract:

Geographic isolation is one of the primary drivers of speciation, but islands remain a reservoir of overlooked and understudied endemic species. In this study, we collected seed micromorphological data from Orchis canariensis (Orchidaceae), a declining species occurring only in Canary Islands (Spain), whose taxonomy was debated in the past decades. The aim of the study was to detect seed micromorphological traits in support of species delimitation by means of light and scanning electron microscopy. Seeds from a population in Tenerife resulted to be clavate with a cell number in the longitudinal axis varying from five to seven. Seeds showed straight to sinuous anticlinal walls and no ornamentations in the periclinal walls. Average seed length was 313.66 ± 44.78 µm and average width 184.31 ± 30.26 µm, with a ratio of 1.72 ± 0.25, while embryo length and width were 157.18 ± 35.21 µm and 125.43 ± 25.92 µm respectively. However, despite the affinities with the sister species, Orchis patens, quantitative and qualitative seed traits supported species delimitation recently proposed by means of molecular biology. Taken together, our results confirmed the importance of seed micromorphology in support of taxonomical studies.