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LEAF EPIDERMAL ANATOMY OF SELECTED DIGITARIA SPECIES, TRIBE PANICEAE, FAMILY POACEAE OF PAKISTAN

SYED SHAHINSHAH GILANI, MIR AJAB KHAN, ZABTA KHAN SHINWARI¹ AND ZUBAIDA YOUSAF

Abstract: Anatomical studies of both the abaxial and adaxial surfaces of leaf epidermis of the selected Digitaria species showed variations in size and shapes of prickles, short cells, silica bodies, microhairs with basal and distal cells, hooks, stomates and long cells. Leaf epidermal anatomy was found to be an important tool for identification of Digitaria spp. The average lengths of the organelles of leaf epidermises were more clear difference between the species than considering their full ranges of length and breadth. Cross shaped silica bodies were found in D. abludens (av. length less than 15 µm), D. setigera and D. violascens (av. length less than 20 µm), dumb-bell to cross shaped in D. nodosa and D. sanguinalis ssp. vulgaris var. glabra while dumb-bell shaped in D. ciliaris, D. ischaemum and D. radicosa.

The comparative lengths of distal cell and basal cell of microhairs i.e., shorter, longer or equal to each other, were found to be useful in identifying Digitaria spp. Basal cell was longer than the distal cell of microhairs in D. abludens, it was equal to the distal cell in D. nodosa and shorter than the distal cell in D. sanguinalis and D. ciliaris. Low or tall domed shaped, parallel and triangular subsidiary cells were also observed to be helpful in identification. Cross shaped silica bodies were found in D. abludens, D. setigera and D. violascens, dumb-bell to cross shaped in D. nodosa and D. sanguinalis subsp. vulgaris var. glabra while dumb-bell shape in D. ciliaris, D. ischaemum and D. radicosa.

Department of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
National Herbarium, NARC, P.O. Box NIH, Islamabad.
Corresponding Author: shinwari2002@yahoo.com