IDENTIFICATION OF A PREVIOUSLY UNASSIGNED POLLEN TYPE IN CENTRAL-AMERICAN HONEYS (CUBAFORM) - AESCHYNOMENE-AMERICANA L (LEGUMINOSAE, PAPILIONOIDEAE)

In honeys from Central American provenances such as Mexico (Yucatan, C hiapas) or Guatemala, a pollen type ('Cuba-form') occurs as a reliable marker for those regions (fig 1). The species origin for this pollen is unknown to melissopalynologists. Because the 'Cuba-form' amounts to up to 16% of pollen grains in honey, there is an urgent interest to s olve this secret, This is very important for the valuation of botanica lly characterized honey by the criterion of pollen analysis. During pa lynological work on a collection of Ethiopian pollen grains the 'Cuba- form' was detected. Pollen grains from plant material of Aeschynomene americana and 'Cuba-forms' of authentic Mexican and Cuban honeys were prepared for light- and scanning-electron-microscopical analyses (figs 2 and 3), The following characterizations were made for all three pol len types: shape: inter-semiangular to circular, 3-colporate, P 16 mm (15-17 mu m) x E 18.5 mu m (17-20 mu m); apertures: syncolporate, era lolongate, colpi with operculum, margo psilate in equatorial area; exi ne: sexine reticulate, heterobrochate, lumina up to 0.5 mu m, muri sim plicolumellate; colour: colourless, grey. The clear correspondence in morphology indicates that the 'Cuba-form' is the pollen of A americana . Further species of this plant occur in similar climatic regions such as in South Africa (A elaphroxylon, A nyassana, with little deviation s in pollen morphology), Australia and India (A indica). A abyssinica and A americana are both described as good plants for honey flow in Et hiopia, but only A americana is native in tropical and subtropical Ame rica, Pollen morphological, geographical and climatical facts confirm the results.