OBJECTIVETo study the pollen morphology of ten species of Achillea.

METHODThe pollen morphology of ten species of Achillea was examined with LM and SEM.

RESULTThe pollen grains were usually 3-colporate, subspheroidal. The exine ornamentation consisted of verrucate, spinulate and foveolate. But some differences in size, colpae and exine ornamentation were found.

CONCLUSIONThe slight differences of the pollen morphology are useful to some extent for the classification of the ten species of Achillea.

Achillea ; classification ; ultrastructure ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Pollen ; ultrastructure ; Species Specificity

Twelve compounds were isolated from the aerial parts of Achillea alpina by column chromatographies on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and semi-preparative HPLC. The structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral analysis. The compounds were identified as pellitorine(1), 8,9-dehydropellitorine(2), (E,E)-2,4-undecadien-8, 10-diynoic acid isobutylamide(3), (E,E)-2,4-tetradecadien-8,10-diynoic acid isobutylamide(4),sintenin(5), 4',5,7,8-tetramethoxyflavone(6), chrysoplenetin(7), formononetin(8), aurantiamide(9), asperglaucide(10), artemetin(11), and eupatorin(12). compounds 1-5 were isolated from this plant for the first time, and compounds 6-10 were isolated from the genus Achillea for the first time.
Achillea ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization