Abstract
The present study, conducted during the period 2010- 2011, involved morphological observations and anatomical investigations of horse chestnut (<i>Aesculus hippocastanum</i> L.) leaves with symptoms of damage caused by feeding of larvae of the horse-chestnut leaf miner (<i>Cameraria ohridella</i> Deschka & Dimić). Leaves were collected from trees growing in the city of Lublin (Poland). Microscopic slides were prepared from fresh and fixed plant material. Leaf anatomical features were examined by light microscopy in order to determine the mechanical barrier for feeding pests. Changes were also observed during the progressive damage of the leaf tissues caused by the larvae. Selected developmental stages of the pest are presented in the paper. It has been shown that very thin blades of the mesomorphic leaves of <i>Aesculus hippocastanum</i> produce a poorly developed mechanical barrier in which the following elements can be included: the presence of collenchyma and idioblasts with druses of calcium oxalate, few non-glandular trichomes found close to the leaf veins as well as relatively thin outer walls of the epidermal cells. The cells containing tannins and the oil cells found in the mesophyll may form a physiological barrier. However, foraging leaf miner larvae feed only on the palisade and spongy parenchyma cells, leaving undamaged the cells with tannins as well as the idioblasts with calcium oxalate crystals and oils. The feeding of the pest in the leaf mesophyll leads to the death of the epidermis on both sides of the lamina and to drying of the parts of the leaves in the area of the mines.
Highlights
Common horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) is an ornamental tree that is frequently planted in Poland and in other European countries (Seneta and Dolatowski, 2007)
Healthy pieces and the parts colonised by the horse-chestnut leaf miner were cut off from fresh leaves and cross sections of the leaf blade and of the midrib were prepared with a manual microtome using a scalpel or blade
Midrib The thickness of the midrib of the horse chestnut leaf was from 193,7 μm to 2158 μm on avarage 907 μm
Summary
Common horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) is an ornamental tree that is frequently planted in Poland and in other European countries (Seneta and Dolatowski , 2007). It belongs to melliferous (Lipiński , 2010), medicinal (Podbielkowski , 1992; Strzelecka and Kowalski , 2000), and cosmetic plants (Jędrzejko et al 2007). Leaves, flowers, and seeds are used as medicinal raw material (Kohlműnzer , 1998). The compounds contained in the tissues of horse chestnut counteract, among others, inflammatory conditions and venous stasis (Antkowiak , 1998; Strzelecka and Kowalski , 2000). Common horse chestnut belongs to poisonous plants due to the content of triterpene saponins. Horse chestnut seeds have been a cause of fatal poisoning in humans (Sadowska , 2004). Glue is produced from its seeds rich in starch. Horse chestnut wood is used to produce furniture and cellulose (Podbielkowski and Sudnik - Wójcikowska , 2003)
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