The contemporary study examined several wild species of dicotyledons developing in the Samawa Desert in Southern Iraq. The various characteristics of these species’ assessment used a light microscope to isolate the species from each other and better utilize their qualities. Based on the collected field samples, four species belonging to the family Asteraceae reached identification, i.e., Aaronsohnia factorovskyi, Anvillea gracinii, Anthemis maritima, and Calendula arvensis. The botanical characteristics, such as shape, size, apertures, pole type, apocolpium, mesocolpium, wall thickness, and exine sculpturing, also gained evaluation in the study. The examined profiles of different species varied greatly, according to the results. The nature of the polarity of the pollen grains determines the pollen grains’ polarity, which, in turn, determines the shape of apertures and isopolar to take apertures zono-colporate. The overall shape of the pollen grains, determined by the ratio between the polar axis to the equatorial axis P/E, included prolate spheroidal and oblate spheroidal. By measuring the axis length, the study showed that the species’ pollen grains were within a medium range. As for exine sculpturing, the study revealed one type of sculpturing, i.e., echinate in the genera Aaronsohnia factorovskyi, Anvillea gracinii, and Anthemis maritima, while the genus Calendula arvensis was devoid of decorations.

Keywords: Compositae (Asteraceae), botanical traits, pollen grains, A. factorovskyi, A. gracinii, A. maritime, C. arvensis

Key findings: The study showed some botanical traits, such as spines, are closely related to species and taxa belonging to the family Compositae. Most studied species contained the outer wall layer of the pollen on spines of different lengths and shapes.