FOLIAR EPIDERMAL ANATOMY OF PLANTS IN DESERTS OF TEHSIL THARPARKER – SINDH, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The present study confined to foliar anatomical characterization of thirty (30) selected plant species collected from deserts of Tharparker, Pakistan was done under light microscopy. Various qualitative and quantitative anatomical features such as size and shape of epidermal cells, types of stomata, length and width of guard cells, subsidiary cells and trichomes have been studied. Overall irregular, rectangular, polygonal, undulate and isodiametric epidermal cells were observed at both abaxial and adaxial surfaces except Verbascum thapsus in which uniseriate epidermal cells were reported on adaxial surface. Solanum americanum possessed the largest epidermal cell length i.e., 41.6 μm while in Melia azedarach the smallest length i.e., 9.94 μm was noted along abaxial surface. The average width along abaxial surafce in epidermal cells ranged from minimum in Cucumis sativus (3.06 μm) to maximum in Moringa oleifera (24.5 μm). Along adaxial surface length wise largest epidemal cell was examined in Riccinus communis 74.5 μm, whereas smallest cell was observed in Cucumis sativus 10.2 μm. On abaxial side numbers of stomata is higher than abaxial surface, mostly anisocytic, anomocytic, paracytic, diacytic and tetracytic stomata were observed. Generally cylindrical, unicellular, uniseriate, multicellular, stellate, peltate, glandular and nonglandular types of trichomes were reported. It is concluded that investigated qualitative and quantitative anatomical features such as epidermal cells, stomata and trichomes exhibit significant tool for accurate identification and for the delimitation of taxonomically complex species.