Anatomy and morphology of Nicotiana glauca with regard to its crystals characterization.

Abstract

Nicotiana glauca belongs to the Solanacese family of which Nicotiana tabacumand Nicotiana rustica are best known for their use as tobacco. N. glauca attains the greatest abundance and diversity in Central Argentina where it is considered native, and has been known as a weed in South Africa since the 19th Century. Extensive work on toxic effect of secondary metabolites extracted from this plant was conducted but their sources of origin and structure were not known. The leaves of N. glauca were characterized by the presence of solitary crystals and crystal-sand which originated from the cytosol and vacuoles. The presence of the compact tissues, isobilateral leaf with thick-cuticular epidermis and abundant crystals was assumed to be of ecological importance as this species appeared to be adapted to the xeromorphic habitats. Key words: Anatomy, morphology, crystals in Nicotiana glauca.