Abstract
<em>Euphrasia stricta </em>D. Wolff ex J. F. Lehm. (Orobanchaceae) is a representative of plants that are widely used in folk medicine, phytomedicine, and homeopathy. The medicinal raw material derived from the drug eyebright is applied primarily in treatment of ophthalmic diseases. The investigations of trichomes in drug eyebright (<em>Euphrasia stricta </em>D. Wolff ex J. F. Lehm) were conducted in 2010–2011. Using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, their location and morphological and anatomical features were identified. Three types of non-glandular trichomes were found: short unicellular, long 1–2 celled, and long 2-celled with wall ornamentation. Additionally, 7 types of glandular trichomes were found; these included: unicellular clavate, 2–3-celled clavate, capitate with a unicellular head and a 3-cel- led stalk, capitate with a unicellular head and a 2-celled stalk, capitate with a 2-celled head, conical papillae, and ribbon-like trichomes with wall thickening.
Highlights
Until recently, the drug eyebright Euphrasia L. has been classified as a representative of the family Scrophulariaceae [1,2]
General habit of the flower The flower habit was observed under a stereoscopic light microscope
The hermaphrodite zygomorphic flowers are borne on apical parts of shoots and arranged at an acute angle thereto
Summary
The drug eyebright Euphrasia L. has been classified as a representative of the family Scrophulariaceae [1,2]. In the new taxonomic system presented on the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website, the genus belongs to the family Orobanchaceae, i.e. one of the clades in the order Lamiales. In the Polish flora, only 10 Euphrasia species occur in natural localities [2,3,4,5]. Many species from the genus Euphrasia have been reported to be threatened with extinction. In Poland, taxonomic and phytogeographical investigations of the drug eyebright were initiated again in 2001 primarily in the south of the country, since data obtained several decades ago proved outdated, given the current state of the art [7,8,9]
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