SEM

mjc (ASMJC%ASUACAD.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU)
Wed, 04 Dec 91 18:58:37 MST

Nope, Barry doesn't have an SEM; he's an ASTRONOMER. Still, I suppose if
you put Nepenthes pollen in Barry's chair, then climbed up on top of the
observatory and looked down the 'scope the wrong way... might be as good
as an SEM. Waddya think, Barry?

I've used the SEM for taxonomy work, but only on IMPORTANT plants which
have GREAT significance to botanical study... Echinocactus polycephalus
for example.

I wouldn't bet too much on Nepenthes pollen being useful for taxonomy.
Pollen is usually not taxonomically useful for sub-generic taxa. I would
say flower and seed morphology are likely to be more useful. It would
also be interesting to SEM some of that epidermal pubescence. It isn't
even worth doing though, unless you've got field collected material with
data.
MJC