Micromorphological studies of leaf epidermis on the genus Cotoneaster Medik in Iran and its implication
15 October 2018
Raei Niaki, Nemat; Attar, Farideh; Mirtadzadini, Mansour; Mahdigholi, Kazem; Sheidai, masoudIn this study, some micromorphological features of leaf epidermal cells of 17 species of Iranian Cotoneaster were determined. The studied species were compared with each other and with phylogenetic data from previous studies. Of these species, three populations of C. integerrimus and C. multiflorus were studied as the members of subgenera Cotoneaster and Chaenopetalum, respectively. For assessment of quantitative and qualitative characters, Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Factor Analysis of Mixed Data (FAMD) analyses by R software were adopted. Finally, relationships among the taxa were shown in the frame of a hierarchical clustering analysis. There were three stomatal types in this genus, i.e. anomocytic, stephanocytic and actino-stephanocytic. Wax and cuticle density of semi-moist species were more than dry and semi- dry species. The patterns of anticlinal walls of epidermal cells were sinuous, repand and straight- curved. Interestingly, there was a significant relationship between length of leaves, density of indumentum and anticlinal wall pattern of epidermal cells. In this way, the leaves in the species with large leaves has fewer hair density and more curved anticlinal cell walls. It is probable that the effect of climatic conditions on leaf micro-morphological characters only affects the species during the split time of the genus, and after species fixation, these characters have been permanently fixed and could be used to identify the species.