Abstract
The present study explores detailed morphoanatomical features of five species of Piper L., viz. P. betle L., P. longum L., P. nigrum L., P. retrofractum Vahl and P. sylvaticum Roxb. Each species is supplemented by detailed updated nomenclature, vernacular names, diagnostic characters, phenology, ecology and representative specimens. Maximum number of cortical and medullary vascular bundles have been observed in P. nigrum and P. retrofractum, respectively. In contrast, minimum number of cortical and medullary vascular bundles have been found in P. sylvaticum. Glandulartrichomes are found on the midrib of P. betle, P. longum, and P. sylvaticum, whereas trichomes are lacking in P. nigrum and P. retrofractum. The highest number of collateral vascular bundles have been found in P. retrofractum followed by P. nigrum, while P. betle and P. longum contain single collateral vascular bundle. P. betle can easily be distinguished from other species by its oval stem, non-glandular multicellular trichome with pointed tip, and presence of idioblasts and oil droplets. P. longum is distinct from remaining species by its diacytic stomata. Keys to the species based on morphological and anatomical characters are provided for easy identification of the studied species.
Highlights
The genus Piper L. (Piperaceae) consists of over 1,000 species and distributed pantropically, and the greatest diversity of Piper species occurs in the American tropics followed by Southern Asia (Jaramillo and Manos, 2001)
Plant specimens of five Piper L. species, viz. P. betle, P. longum, P. nigrum, P. retrofractum and P. sylvaticum have been collected from different districts of Bangladesh, critically studied and identified
Identifications were confirmed by consulting standard relevant literature (Hooker, 1886; Prain, 1903; Hubert, 1987; Yongqian et al, 1999), experts and matching with the properly identified herbarium specimens deposited at Dhaka University Salar Khan Herbarium (DUSH) and Bangladesh National Herbarium (DACB)
Summary
The genus Piper L. (Piperaceae) consists of over 1,000 species and distributed pantropically, and the greatest diversity of Piper species occurs in the American tropics followed by Southern Asia (Jaramillo and Manos, 2001). Plant specimens of five Piper L. species, viz. P_betle, P. longum, P. nigrum, P. retrofractum and P. sylvaticum have been collected from different districts of Bangladesh, critically studied and identified. The contour of stem is round in P. longum, P. nigrum, P. retrofractum and P. sylvaticum (Fig. 2A–D), while oval in P. betle (Fig. 2E). Except P. retrofractrum, all the studied species of Piper contain nonglandular, unicellular and conical shaped trichomes (Fig. 2G) other than P. betle.
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