Abstract
The spurge family Euphorbiaceae Juss. is a large family of flowering plants, most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees, succulent and resemble cacti. Diagnostic values of the leaf chlorophyll of seven members of two genera (Euphorbia L. and Jatropha L.) of Euphorbiaceae Juss. were studied namely E. neriifolia, E. heterophylla, E. convolvuloides, E. hirta, J. curcas, J. gossypifolia and J. multifida. Analysis of variance was used to test for significance differences among the seven taxa considered. There is correlation between the chlorophyll content and leaf area; the plant (E. heterophylla) with larger leaf area (203.49cm2) has highest chlorophyll content (8.63g/cm2) and J. curcashas the lowest mean leaf area (64.41cm2) lowest chlorophyll content of 1.28g/cm2. Such correlation was not observed between the leaf per gram fresh weight and chlorophyll contentand % chlorophyll content, where E. convolvuloides has the higher leaf area per gram fresh weight (162.79g) and E. heterophylla has the least (89.85g). Generally, species of Euphorbia have higher features in % chlorophyll content (E. heterophylla-75.07%), chlorophyll content (E. heterophylla-8.63g/cm2), leaf area per gram fresh weight (E. convolvuloides-162.79g) and leaf area (E. heterophylla-203.49) than the Jatropha species. These features are found to be good taxonomic characters and thus indented dichotomous taxonomic keyswere constructed based separately for the two genera.
Highlights
The spurge family Euphorbiaceae Juss. is a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7, 500 species
The genera in tribe Euphorbieae Dumort, subtribe Euphorbiinae Griseb. (Euphorbia L. and close relatives) show a highly specialized form of pseudanthium ("false flower" made up of several true flowers) called a cyathium. This is usually a small, cup-like involucre consisting of fused-together bracts and peripheral nectary glands, Adewumi Aderiike Grace et al.: Diagnostic Value of the Leaf Chlorophyll in Some Members of the Family Euphorbiaceae Juss surrounding a ring of male flowers, each a single stamen
The results obtained from this study revealed that six out of all the seven taxa studied namelyE. neriifolia, E. heterophylla, E. convolvuloides, E. hirta, J. gossypifolia and J. multifida are possible good specimens for multiplication and cultivation to help reduce the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
Summary
The spurge family Euphorbiaceae Juss. is a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7, 500 species. Is a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7, 500 species. (Euphorbia L. and close relatives) show a highly specialized form of pseudanthium ("false flower" made up of several true flowers) called a cyathium This is usually a small, cup-like involucre consisting of fused-together bracts and peripheral nectary glands, Adewumi Aderiike Grace et al.: Diagnostic Value of the Leaf Chlorophyll in Some Members of the Family Euphorbiaceae Juss surrounding a ring of male flowers, each a single stamen. In addition to the use of morphological characters like leaves and flowers, a large family such as Euphorbiaceae need to be further exploited taxonomically with the of some other characters like chemicals, protein bandings, pollen types and many more. Knowledge on the chlorophyll content of species of the Euphorbiaceae could be useful to identify candidates’ species for multiplication and use for aesthetic and environmental purposes
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