Scanning electron and light microscopy of foliar epidermal characters: A tool for plant taxonomists in the identification of grasses

Abstract

SEM and light microscopy are of special interest for biologist to observe various features of the living bodies. In the current study we observed the foliar epidermal micro-morphological characters of 44 grass species using SEM and Light microscopy to assess their taxonomic utility for taxonomists in the identification process. The aim of this study is to use the foliar epidermal structural variations in both upper and lower surfaces for identification of grasses. Significant diversity was observed in both qualitative and quantitative characters using SEM and Light microscopy. Variations were observed in stomatal number, size, guard cells shape, silica bodies, macro-hairs, micro-hairs, epidermal cell number, subsidiary cells, prickles, hooks, papillae, and short and long cells. A taxonomic key is prepared using these variations for the identification of grass species. Based on these findings, SEM and Light microscopy of foliar epidermal features can be of special interest for taxonomists in the identification of complex grass taxa.

Palyno‐morphological investigations of halophytic taxa of Amaranthaceae through SEM from Salt range of Northern Punjab, Pakistan

“…Butt et al () also utilized LM and SEM for morpho‐palynological study of Cyperaceae. The use of LM and SEM is of special interest for the taxonomist to examine various taxonomic features (Khan, Ahmad, Zafar, & Ullah, ). Various authors have studied pollen morphology of family Amaranthaceae and Chenopodiaceae worldwide using LM and SEM (Dehghani & Akhani, ; Olvera, Fuentes‐Soriano, & Hernández, ; Punsalpaamuu, Schluetz, Gegeensuvd, & Saindovdon, ; Talebi, Noori, & Nasiri, ).…”

Micromorphological observation of seed coat of Eucalyptus species (Myrtaceae) using scanning electron microscopy technique

“…Many researchers have paid special attention toward the SEM and light microscopy to study various features in plants, and some of them have investigated the seed structural characters at length to prove how seed surface pattern can be helpful in identification (Khan, Ahmad, Zafar, & Ullah, ; Rashid et al, ). Musselman and Mann () and Granel de Solignac () pointed out the importance of seed testa ultra‐morphology in plant taxonomy, which is the only reliable means to distinguish close related taxa.…”

Comparison of Sample Preparation Techniques for Inspection of Leaf Epidermises Using Light Microscopy and Scanning Electronic Microscopy

“…For example, observation of the micro-structure of glandular hairs contributes to understanding of their ontogeny, anatomy, secretory compound composition, and relationship to herbivores (Nery et al, 2017;Yan et al, 2017). Moreover, analysis of epidermis micro-structure can provide evidence for taxonomic classification and genetic relationships (Kang et al, 2017;Khan et al, 2017;Gutiérrez-Ortega et al, 2018;Hussain et al, 2018;Shah et al, 2018).…”