Abstract

• Taxonomy and pollen morphology of 8 species belonging to genus Desmodium of Papilionoideae were studied. The specimens were collected from Magway Region during 2019-2020. Taxonomic descriptions, artificial key to the species and photographs of each species were presented. According to the resulting data, Desmodium confertum DC., D. jucundum Thw, are perennial and the remaining species are annual. The unifoliolate leaves occurred in D. renifolium (L.) Schindl., D. teres Wall., D. velutinum (Willd.) DC. and the remaining species are trifoliolate. Pollen morphology of each species was studied. Pollen grains found are monad and aperture colporate. All study species were found tricolporate and pori lalongate. Pollen of D. confertum DC., D. velutinum (Willd.) DC. are small sized and the remaining species are medium. Three types of exine sculpture (psilate, reticulate, microreticulate) were found. D.confertum DC. is reticulate; D. griffithianum Benth. is psilate and the remaining species are microreticulate. Pollen key to the species were constructed on different palynological characters.