Seasonal variation of stomatal characteristics of Ficus species grown in Zaria, North Western Nigeria

Abstract

Foliar stomatal characteristics are among the commonly used characters for the identificationand delimitation of taxa. This study was carried out to determine variations in stomatalcharacteristics of some members in the Genus Ficus grown in Zaria, part of the Sudan Savanna zone of Nigeria. Eight different Ficus species grown in Zaria were used for the study. Microscopic observations of foliar stomatal characteristics were carried out following standard established protocols during both the dry and rainy seasons. Stomatal preparations were obtained using matured leaves by treating each leaf with sodium hypochlorite to clear the chlorophyll contents. Measurements of stomatal characters were made with the aid of an ocular micrometer and stage micrometer. Photomicrographs were taken. The data obtainedwere subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test used to separate significant means at 5 % level. The result obtained revealed significant difference (P≤0.05) in the stomatal characteristics of the Ficus species with season. Anomocytic stomata was detected in all the species. There were variations with abaxial stomata cell length ranging from 23.32-50.24 μm in dry season and in the rainy season, the abaxial cell length ranged between 26.78-46.43 μm. Also, the stomatal index in the dry season ranged from 1.30% to 27.16% while in the rainy season, it ranged from 15.29 % to 23.19 %.