Abstract Pollen sculpture elements of four Rhododendron species from 49 populations were studied using scanning electron microscopy. The sculpture in the polar areas of the studied taxa pollen differed in type, shape, size, and distribution of individual elements. There were five sculpture types identified. The pollen of Rhododendron ledebourii from various populations in Altai revealed sculpture elements characteristic of R. dauricum, R. mucronulatum, and R. sichotense, questioning the taxonomic position of the former species. Analysis of the geographical distribution of sculpture types clarified species boundaries and zones of sympatric distribution. The northern boundary of R. mucronulatum was expanded and new populations of R. sichotense were revealed. In the sympatric zones of R. mucronulatum and R. sichotense, there were intermediate populations showing pollen sculptures typical of R. dauricum, R. mucronulatum, and R. sichotense. The sculpture diversity observed in the pollen of R. dauricum, together with its presence in sympatric zones, suggests that it is probably a hybrid of R. sichotense and R. mucronulatum or a subspecies of R. sichotense.

中文翻译：

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可以在杜鹃花中进行花粉雕刻。Rhodorastra 区分物种？

摘要 采用扫描电镜对49个种群4种杜鹃花的花粉雕刻元素进行了研究。所研究的类群花粉极地地区的雕塑在类型、形状、大小和单个元素的分布方面有所不同。确定了五种雕塑类型。来自阿尔泰不同种群的莱德杜鹃花粉揭示了杜鹃花、红花杜鹃和红花杜鹃的雕塑元素特征，质疑了前者的分类地位。雕塑类型的地理分布分析阐明了物种边界和同域分布区。R. mucronulatum 的北部边界扩大，并揭示了新的 R. sichotense 种群。在 R. mucronatum 和 R. sichotense 的同域区，有中间种群展示了典型的 R. dauricum、R. mucronulatum 和 R. sichotense 的花粉雕塑。在 R. dauricum 花粉中观察到的雕塑多样性，连同其在同域区的存在，表明它可能是 R. sichotense 和 R. mucronatum 的杂交种或 R. sichotense 的亚种。