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The pollen morphology and exine structure of 10 Mentha L. species were investigated using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The pollen grains of all 11 species were hexazonocolpate with granular membranes and a circular amb, varying in shape from prolate-spheroidal to suboblate. Different colpus shapes were recognized in M. ¥ dumetorum. The exine was bireticulate in section Pulegium, and reticulate in section Menthae. A correlation was found between pollen size and chromosome number. The results indicate that the pollen characters of the genus Mentha are valuable for taxonomic applications and may be useful for classification.

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The nutlet morphology of 11 taxa of Mentha L. (M. pulegium, M. aquatica (SEM). The shape of all studied nutlets was broadly oblong or ovoid. Nutlet size ranged from 0.54 to 0.97 mm in length and from 0.37 to 0.66 mm in width. The smallest and biggest nutlets were found in M. × villoso-nervata and M. aquatica, respectively. The Mentha taxa studied can be divided into three groups, based on nut sculpturing type such as distinctly bireticulate, inconspicuously bireticulate and reticulate. This study has shown that some nutlet morphological characteristics can be utilised as additional diagnostic characteristics in delimitations of Mentha at the species and infraspecific levels.