Abstract: The pollen morphology of 15 Chinese traditional roses were examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM). The features of pollen grains were goniotreme, prolate and perprolate, 37.59-51.95 μm×17.02-25.33 μm in size. The equatorial view was ellipse, while the polar view was trilobate-circular with tricolporate annularly distributed in equal space. Exine sculpture was striate with apertures. Features of the exine ornamentation showed variability among cultivars. Cluster analysis results indicated that the size and exine sculpture of pollen could reflect the differences among cultivars in a certain extent. According to the evolution of rose pollen, it can be inferred that Roses chinensis ‘Parsons’ Pink China’, ‘Slater’s Crimson China’ and ‘Pu Fu Hong’ were more evolutive than other cultivars, while ‘Si Mian Jing’ could be regarded as an original cultivar.

Key words: Roses, traditional cultivars, pollen morphology, cluster analysis