Survey of the leaf anatomy of Araliaceae and some related taxa

Abstract

Ostroumova, T.A. & Oskolski, A.A.: Survey of the leaf anatomy of Araliaceae and some related taxa. — Plant Div. Evol. 128: 423–441. 2010. — ISSN 1869-6155. Leaf blade structure of 32 species representing 20 genera of Araliaceae, Myodocarpaceae, and Apiaceae (subfamilies Mackinlayoideae and Azorelloideae) has been examined. Taxonomic and phylogenetic importance of leaf anatomical features were evaluated using both our original results and the data published by other authors. Such leaf anatomical characters as shape of bundle transection, presence of inverted bundles in midrib, presence of bundles in the centre of bundle ring, presence of the calcium oxalate crystals in mesophyll, thickness of periclinal outer walls of epidermal cells, stomatal type, number of epidermal cells surrounding stoma, presence and type of trichomes can be of certain systematic and phylogenetic value at least on the generic level. Some leaf characters can be used for delimitation of Myodocarpaceae, Mackinlayoideae, as well as of the large lineages within Araliaceae (i.e. the Aralia group, the Polyscias-Pseudopanax Group, the Cussonia group).