Abstract: We examined the micromorphology of leaf epidermis and pollen characteristics of four species of Prinsepia Royle in China by using scanning electron microscopy. Among them, it was the first time to report these above information of P.sinensis and P.utilis in Taiwan. The pollen grains were subglobose, radial symmetry, and tricolporate, the exine sculpturing was stripe with equatorial aperture, and the range of value of P/E was from 0.91 to 0.97. The size range varied within (19.62-27.30)μm×(21.53-29.59) μm. There were two types of pollen grains which were blunt- triangle and trifid round in polar view, two groups of aperture were goniotreme and peritreme, pollen had exine with perforations and exine with no pores. Two groups of pollen grains were mucus drip on the pollen exine without mucus drip. There were more differences in the density and spacing of vallate as well as the characters of colpi. Four species were divided into two types, epidermal hair or not. There were large differences between three species including the characters of cuticle, stoma density, waxy and stoma form. We provided the references about palynology and the micromorphology of leaf epidermis for classification study of native Prinsepia Royle, and theoretic basis for introduction and cultivation.

Key words: Prinsepia Royle, pollen, leaf epidermis, micromorphology, classification