Floral Diversity Using Microscopy (LM & SEM) of Takkar Wildlife Sanctuary, Sindh-Pakistan

Abstract

This project is confined to presenting taxonomic information on angiosperms plant species from the Takkar wildlife Sanctuary Sindh-Pakistan. This study elucidates the micromorphological characterization of wild flora adapted to arid environment. Microscopic techniques can be applied to solve the taxonomic problems in field of plant systematic and are extremely of versatile in nature. This study was focused on the new approaches to visualizing the images of plant parts to cover the micro structural features of leaf and pollen. We elaborate that comparative micromorphological attributes of pollen and leaf of wild floral species were analyzed using light (LM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). A total of 56 plant species were categorized into 50 genera and 23 angiosperm families. Pollen grains of collected species were acetolyzed, observed and measured through statistical software. Wild floral species showed variation in shape, type, aperture, and exine sculpturing. Leguminosae was the dominant family revealed scabrate, reticulate scabrate, psilate–scabrate, psilate-perforate, psilate-reticulate, reticulate, reticulate verrucate, psilate exine wall peculiarities. The minimum exine thickness was recorded in Erythrina suberosa (0.75 µm) whereas the maximum thickness of exine in Trifolium resupinatum (5.24 µm). Foliar anatomical micromorphology of collected plant species was performed using lactic acid and nitric acid methods. Scanning electron microscopy was used to investigate various micro epidermal traits. Both leaf surfaces (adaxial and abaxial) revealed variations in the leaf anatomical traits including stomata types, epidermal cell form, anticlinal wall, and trichomes diversity. The epidermal cell shapes were observed as polygonal, wavy, isodiametric, and polygonal. The largest epidermal cells were examined in Dalbergia sisso (47.5 μm) on the adaxial side and Prosopis cineraria (38.5 μm) on the abaxial surface. Largest stomatal complex diameter was recorded for Dalbergia sisso (24.9 μm) on the abaxial surface. The non-glandular trichomes (NGTs) were observed long falcate, short conical, lipidote, capitate and filiform in Astragalus hamosus. Overall, the examined micromorphological leaf and pollen traits of plant species collectively have a significant taxonomic potential to identify and define species boundaries at the generic level and can be used as an additional tool to strengthen the taxonomic position and differentiate the flora of the Takkar Wildlife Sanctuary at the subfamilial, tribe, generic and specific level.