Micromorphological Variability of the Leaf epidermis in some Ornamental Taxa of Genus Ficus L. (Moraceae) in Egypt | ||||
| Horticulture Research Journal | ||||
| Volume 1, Issue 3, September 2023, Page 37-56 PDF (3.36 MB) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/hrj.2023.321772 | ||||
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| Abstract | ||||
| A study of the epidermal leaf traits of 12 cultivated taxa of the genus Ficus (Moraceae) representing five subgenera and nine sections has been made with the SEM. The study revealed important micromorphological characters which exhibit interesting variations at the infrageneric level. The characters found to be of valuable use in distinguishing groups of taxa are: pattern of anticlinal walls of adaxial epidermal cells; nature of trichomes as the presence or absence of eglandular simple unbranched or complex branched ones, as well as, elliptic and elongate glandular hairs; presence or absence of hydathodes on both surfaces and its type adaxially; absence of lithocysts on both surfaces and its presence abaxially and/or adaxially; stomata outline, size, distribution and presence of sunken stomata with peristomatal cuticular thickening; cuticle architecture and epicuticular wax. Clustering analysis of the studied taxa has been done to assess the taxonomic identification and the phenetic relationships among the taxa. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Ficus; Moraceae; epidermal features; scanning electron microscope (SEM); taxonomy | ||||
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