THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEEDS OF SOME COLCHICUM L.(LILICEAE) SPECIES

Aysegül GÜVENÇ*, Maksut COSKUN*°, Mehmet KOYUNCU*

*Ankara University , Faculty of Pharmacy , Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, 06100, Tandogan, Ankara, TURKEY.
°Corresponding Author

Summary:
The bulbs and seeds of the Colchicum species are used in therapy and agriculture. The seeds which are obtained from different Colchicum species in Turkey are exported.The chemical studies that have been made so far show that these species contain different amounts of colchicin.The seeds of C. speciosum , C.kotchyi and C.bornmuelleri are exported and it was reported that C.cilicicum also has a potential for exportation. In this paper the morphological and microscopial characteristics of the seed of four Colchicum species (C.bornmuelleri, C.cilicicum, C.kotschyi, C.speciosum) are reported. The results were compared with the characteristics of C.autumnale which is accepted as an officinal species.

Key words:
Colchicum Species, Bulb, Seed, Morphology, Characteristics.