Colpus (Pl. Colpi)
Definition
An elongated, meridionally oriented furrow in the exine. Grains with three colpi (tricolpate) include most eudicot flowering plants. The colpus can carry a central pore to form a colporus.
- Field
- Palynology (pollen and spore morphology)
- Structure
- Elongated, meridionally oriented furrow in the exine
- Tricolpate example
- Most eudicot flowering plants
- Related structure
- Colporus, when a central pore is added
Common questions
Why does colpus number and arrangement matter in forensic palynology?+
Aperture type, number, and arrangement are among the most stable and diagnostic features used to identify pollen to family or genus level, which lets a forensic palynologist link soil, clothing, or vehicle samples to a specific plant community or geographic origin.
What is the difference between a colpus and a colporus?+
A colpus is a simple elongated furrow, while a colporus is a compound aperture where a circular or oval pore sits within the furrow; the presence or absence of that central pore is itself a distinguishing taxonomic character.
Related terms
- Aperture
- An opening in the pollen wall through which the pollen tube emerges. Classified by shape into pores (porate), furrows (colpate) and combined...
- Exine
- The tough outer wall of a pollen grain, composed of sporopollenin. Carries the diagnostic sculpture and aperture features and survives most preservation...
- NPC Classification
- A three-digit coding system (Number, Position, Character) for pollen apertures devised by Gunnar Erdtman. Allows rapid, reproducible sorting of unknown grains into...
- Spore
- The reproductive unit of ferns, mosses, and fungi. Structurally distinct from pollen (no aperture in the angiosperm sense; trilete or monolete scars...
- Sporopollenin
- The highly chemically inert polymer forming the outer wall (exine) of pollen grains and spores. Resistant to acid, alkali, oxidation, and biological...