Polystachya Orchid Seed Morphology Measurements for Taxonomic Analysis

A dataset of qualitative and quantitative seed traits for the orchid genus Polystachya, created by Katarzyna Sanek and last updated in May 2026. Measurements were obtained from scanning electron microscopy to assess the systematic relevance of seed characters like length, shape, and surface architecture. The findings are intended to be integrated with molecular and ecological evidence to improve taxonomic resolution.

Use Cases

• Distinguishing Polystachya species based on seed length and anticlinal wall features mentioned in the description.
• Assessing the diagnostic utility of seed surface ornamentation patterns across taxa.
• Reinforcing or challenging phylogenetic relationship hypotheses by integrating seed morphology data.
• Identifying traits with consistent patterns within the genus for taxonomic classification.

Strengths

• Data includes both qualitative and quantitative seed traits, such as length and surface architecture.
• Measurements were obtained using scanning electron microscopy, which suggests a high level of detail.
• The dataset is shared under a permissive CC-BY-4.0 license, allowing for broad reuse.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is contained in a 10.7 MB PDF file, which may require extraction to be used computationally.

Provenance

Source

Katarzyna Sanek, via figshare.

Collection Method

Measurements obtained from scanning electron microscopy of seed samples across representatives of the genus Polystachya.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-18 05:45:06; freshness should be verified.