Abstract
Anatomical attributes are important for taxonomic studies of plants. This study investigated foliar and petiole anatomy of some members of the genera Colocasia and Xanthosoma. Similar and diagnostic characters critical for the taxonomy of the two genera were identified. The similar characters include, polygonal epidermal cell shape, straight adaxial anticlinal wall pattern, brachyparacytic stomata type, elliptic shaped stomata and unmodified raphide type. The presence of papillae on the adaxial surfaces of the members of genus Colocasia but not in the Xanthosoma taxa; lamellar collenchyma type in Xanthosoma mafaffa (Red), and unicellular non-glandular trichomes in Xanthosoma mafaffa (White) were recorded as diagnostic characters. Key words: Brachyparacytic stomata, collenchyma, druses, foliar anatomy, petiole anatomy, papillae, raphides, trichome.
Highlights
Anatomical methods have been found to be very useful in many taxonomic investigations
Several authors have employed leaf, petiole, and even wood anatomical characters that are not influenced by the environment in solving taxonomic problems among groups of plants (Adedeji and Illoh, 2004; Adedeji et al, 2007; Thakuri and Patil, 2011; Akinloye et al, 2012; Oladipo and Oyaniran, 2013; Akinnubi et al, 2014; Osuji and Nwala, 2015; Mudasiru et al, 2016; Rodriguez et al, 2016; Arogundade and Adedeji, 2017)
The Araceae is a large family of plants, found in the New World and Old World tropics, and north temperate regions (Vargas et al, 2004; Mora et al, 2006)
Summary
Anatomical methods have been found to be very useful in many taxonomic investigations. According to Keating (2003), leaf and petiole anatomy of the Araceae have a high potential use as character states in resolving taxonomic problems in the family. The corms and leaves of members of genera Colocasia and Xanthosoma have been part of delicacies around the world (Cable, 1984; Okeke, 1992, Amanze, 2009) Morphological descriptions of these two genera have been studied (Purseglove, 1972; Burkill, 1985; Gill, 1988; Mayo et al, 1997; Ngoka, 1997; Bown, 2000), resolving some descriptive problems between the two genera. Unlike the leaves of Colocasia, those of Xanthosoma are usually not peltate—the upper v-notch extends in to the point of attachment of the leaf petiole to the blade
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