Plants along rivers have narrow leaves to avoid the stress caused by the river’s flow during flooding. Plants that have undergone such morphological leaf modifications to adapt to rivers are called rheophytes. Some populations of Eurya japonica Thunb. (Ternstroemiaceae) were grown on riversides so that the comparative morphology and anatomy of leaves between riverside and inland (control) populations could be examined to confirm their rheophytic speciation. Our morphological and anatomical analyses revealed that the leaf of E. japonica in the riverside populations was significantly smaller than that of the inland populations due to the decreased number of cells; therefore, the pattern of rheophytic differentiation in riversides was not the stenophyllization but the miniaturization of the leaf. Moreover, our results indicated that this species in the riverside populations had thicker leaves and higher density of stomata than those of inland populations, suggesting that E. japonica had been morphologically modified in response to the light and water environments along the river.

Serpentine soils are known to affect plant growth and plants in these soils have morphological and anatomical modifications. Comparative leaf morphology and anatomy studies of Eurya japonica Thunb. was conducted between serpentine and inland (control) areas. Our morphological analyses revealed that the individuals in the serpentine areas had significantly smaller and thicker leaves than those in the inland areas. Our anatomical analyses showed that the smaller leaves of serpentines had decreased numbers of cells, and their thicker leaves contributed to the increased height of epidermal cells, palisade tissue, and spongy tissue. Furthermore, the stomatal size of serpentines was significantly smaller than those from the inland areas. We concluded that E. japonica adapted to the serpentine areas by decreasing leaf size due to low levels of nutrients, by thickening the leaves to store water and reducing the stomatal size to minimize water loss via gas exchange.

To clarify the process of plant adaptation to coastal areas, we conducted morphological and anatomical analyses of Eurya japonica Thunb. (Pentaphylacaceae). There was no significant difference in leaf shape between the inland and coastal populations, although the leaves in coastal populations tended to be thicker. However, our anatomical analysis revealed significant differences in stomatal size and adaxial and abaxial epidermal cell sizes. The smaller stomata of the coastal population of this species were effective in reducing transpiration during gas exchange. Furthermore, the expansion of epidermal cells could be an adaptive strategy to retain water in leaves in coastal environments.

Serpentine soils consist of broadly skewed elemental profiles, including abundant toxic metals and low nutrient content in drought-prone, patchily distributed substrates; therefore, they are one of the most challenging settings for plant life. In this study, a comparative study was conducted using serpentine and inland populations of Ligustrum japonicum Thunb. (Oleaceae) to determine morphological and anatomical differences between the same species growing in the serpentine and inland areas. Longitudinal leaf sections indicated that serpentine populations had slightly thicker leaves than inland populations, contributing to the increased heights of adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells and palisade and spongy tissues. Moreover, the serpentine population had smaller stomata than the inland populations. These results suggest that the strong selective pressure under serpentine soil conditions could force leaves to restore water and avoid excessive transpiration.

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