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Detailed knowledge about the meiotic behavior of threatened plant species is crucial to develop successful conservation strategies. Here we provide a detailed account of the male meiotic behavior of Trillium govanianum Wall ex. D. Don an endangered endemic medicinal plant species of the Himalaya. We collected the plant material from the Bangus valley of the Kashmir Himalaya. The species showed chromosome number n=2x= 10, which is the first gametophytic report for this species. The pollen fertility was found to be in the range of 88-90%. The reduced fertility was due to the meiotic abnormalities such as chromatin stickiness, a late disjunction of bivalents, chromatin bridges, formation of laggards, and polysporads with micronuclei. The seed set was found to be 65.85%. The reduced seed set might be attributed to the presence of various meiotic abnormalities observed.

The present study reports the chromosome number and meiotic behavior including microsporogenesis of Actaea kashmiriana J. Compton and its relation with pollen fertility and seed set. The species showed a chromosome count of 2n=4x=32 and meiotic chromosomal irregularities such as chromatin stickiness, cytomixis, laggard formation, chromosomal bridges, micronuclei and polysporads. B-chromosomes were also observed in this species. Due to these meiotic irregularities, reduced pollen fertility was observed in the range of 85-87%, and the seed set was also significantly reduced to 67.16 to 70.45%.

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