Abstract: In the course of our palynological study on the Chinese Lilium, pollen tetrads are found in two taxa of the genus: L. sempervivoideum and L. amoenum. The latter is distributed in NW. and S. Yunnan Province. It was established by Wilson, but reduced later by himself to a synonym of L. sempervivoideum which occurs from S. Sichuan to C. Yunnan. However, it is regarded as a species distinct from the former by many authors, such as Sealy (1949), Woodcock and Stearn (1950) and S. Y. Liang (1980). Their pollen tetrads are similar in aperture appearance and sexine patterns, but different in the shape, size and arrangement of sculptural elements, as shown by LM and SEM examination. Their leaf shape and flower colour are different, though there are some transitions between them. Based on the facts mentioned above, it is reasonable to regard the two taxa as two subspecies in L. sempervivoideum.

Key words: Lilium, tetrad, microstructure, ultrstructure, L. sempervivoideum Lévl.