Abstract: Micromorphological features of seed surface of 14 species in Impatiens L. were examined under the scanning electron microscope (SEM). According to the characters of the epidermal ornamentation of seed coat and the granules on the cell surface, the micromorphological features of seed surfaces in Impatiens could be divided into 4 types, namely, laevigate, granulate, reticulate and protrusive. The latter two types could be further divided into subdivisions according to the shape of the epidermal ornamentation of the seed coat . The areolate subtype in I. lemeei and the reticulate- colliculate subtype in I. stenosepala were observed for the fist time. The results showed that there were predominant differences among the 14 species, and therefore could be used as reliable diagnostic characters to identify species. The micromorphological features of seed surface were closely correlated with the gross morphology characters, suggesting their important systematic significances.

Key words: Micromorphological feature