Light and scanning electron microscopy‐based foliar micro morphological tools for the identification of fodder grass taxa

Scanning electron microscopic screening; Can it be a taxonomic tool for identification of traditional therapeutic plants

“…SEM results report saddle‐shaped silica body in this species with the 6.91 and 9.5 μm length and width, respectively, at abaxial whereas the 6 and 8.75 μm length and width, respectively, at adaxial. This finding was concordant to the studies of Metcalfe (1960), Chaudhary et al (2001), Ahmad (2009) and Harun et al (2020). Oil droplets were in five studied medicinal plants except for Cynodon dactylon , Plumbago indica , Tamarindus indica , and Terminalia chebula .…”

“…SEM reveals a variety of wall patterns; mostly species possessed smooth walls while sinuous walls were characteristically found in Cynodon dactylon Pongamia pinnata and Terminalia chebula (Figures 3 and 4). Ahmad et al (2010) and Harun et al (2020) also report the sinuous wall pattern in epidermal cells of Cynodon dactylon . The length and width of these epidermal cells also vary plant wise.…”

“…The plant systematic studies would be incomplete without the implications of leaf epidermal anatomical features (Cowan, 1996). Therefore, multiple taxonomists use leaf epidermal features as a successful taxonomic tool (Alyas et al, 2020;Alege & Daudu, 2014;Freire et al, 2005;Barthlott et al, 1998;Ditsch, Patha, & Barthlott, 1995;Hameed, Ashraf, Naz, & Al-Qurainy, 2010;Harun et al, 2020;Lackey, 1978;Naik & Nirguide, 1981;Naz, Hameed, Ashraf, Ahmad, & Arshad, 2009;Palmer, 1983;Polat, Cakilcioglu, Selvi, Türkmen, & Kandemir, 2017;Ramzan, Shaheen, Hussain, Sharifi-Rad, et al, 2019;Rashid et al, 2019;Riaz, Younis, Hameed, & Kiran, 2010;Shaheen et al, 2020;Stenglein et al, 2003;Younis et al, 2020).…”

“…SEM‐based studies on anatomical and palynological features have been found supportive in species delineation in many previous studies (Barthlott, 1981, 1984; Biswas & Mukherjee, 2011; Das, Bhattacharjee, Biswas, & Mukherjee, 2004; Hardin, 1979; Kameshwari & Muniyama, 2001; Paul & Nayar, 1987; Sahai, Kaur, & Pal, 1997; Soladoye, 1982). Even in recent times, Harun, Shaheen, Ahmad, and Shahid (2020) used this technique for the identification of ethnobotanically valued members of family Poaceae, whereas Younis et al (2020) and Alyas et al (2020) have identified, respectively, Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae taxa by employing SEM. Apart from these, multiple other taxonomic studies have strongly argued the significance of SEM in the identification of traditional medicinal plants (Rashid et al, 2018; Ahmed et al, 2019; Ramzan et al, 2019, 2019; Shaheen et al, 2017, 2018).…”

Pollen morphology of selected melliferous plants and its taxonomic implications using microscopy

“…Palyno‐morphological studies are carried out utilizing a variety of microscopic techniques as an assistance to morphological studies and as a useful tool for current plant taxonomists in species delimitation (Amina et al, 2020; Naz et al, 2019; Qureshi et al, 2019). The differentiation of species based on exine ornamentation has been studied using scanning electron microscopy (Bano, Rashid, Ahmad, Bhatti, Yaseen, Anjum, Ahmed, et al, 2020; Bano, Rashid, Ahmad, Bhatti, Yaseen, Anjum, & Sultana, 2020; Khan et al, 2020; Hameed et al, 2020; Harun et al, 2020; Raza et al, 2020). SEM has recently established significant research methodologies in the micro morphological investigations of pollen grains in today modern world (Ahmad et al, 2010; Ahmad, Ali, et al, 2021; Ahmad, Khan, Ahmad, Hameed, et al, 2011; Ahmad, Khan, Ahmad, Zafar, et al, 2011; Gul, Ahmad, et al, 2021; Gul, Latafat, et al, 2021; Rashid, Zafar, Ahmad, Malik, et al, 2021; Rashid, Zafar, Ahmad, Memon, et al, 2021; Yasmin et al, 2010).…”