Cytological Studies in Dioscoreaceae

Abstract

Cytological studies of ten species and a few varieties of Dioscorea and the monotypic genus Trichopus occurring in South India have been made. The chromosome numbers of South Indian Dioscorea species are seen to occur in multiples of the basic number 10 (40, 60, 80, 90, 100), as in the case of other Asiatic species reported previously. Trichopus zeylanicus (n=14, 2n=28) shows a basic number of 14 not found in any other genus of the Dioscoreaceae so far studied. Cytological data support morphological and anatomical evidence suggesting creation of a separate family for the genus Trichopus.