Comparative leaf micromorphology of Drypetes and Putranjiva (Putranjivaceae) and its taxonomic significance
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2020
Putranjivaceae are a pantropically distributed but poorly known glucosinulate-producing family of... more Putranjivaceae are a pantropically distributed but poorly known glucosinulate-producing family of three genera (Drypetes, Putranjiva and Sibangea), previously included in Euphorbiaceae subfamily Phyllanthoideae. Characters of the leaf epidermis were previously suggested as being of infrafamilial taxonomic relevance, but epidermal features of the three genera have not so far been compared in the light of the phylogenetic relationships recovered by molecular data. Therefore, we compared the leaf micromorphology of 44 (out of c. 200) Drypetes spp. and two (out of three) Putranjiva spp. using light microscopy. Our findings revealed that there are more stomata types than previously reported in both genera. We also present a new record of stomatal complexes and epidermal cell characteristics. The cell wall ornamentation character on both surfaces of the epidermis is useful for distinguishing D. aframensis subsp. aframensis. Based on a combination of the studied characters, doubtful specie...
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