Taxonomic demarcation of Arundo donax L. and Phragmites karka (Retz.) Trin. ex Steud. (Arundinoideae, Poaceae) from phytolith signatures

Taxonomic Demarcation of Setaria pumila (Poir.) Roem. & Schult., S. verticillata (L.) P. Beauv., and S. viridis (L.) P. Beauv. (Cenchrinae, Paniceae, Panicoideae, Poaceae) From Phytolith Signatures

“…What adds to the diagnostic significance of these morphotypes is that these were recovered from all the plant parts ranging from roots to synflorescences. Hence, the present study reiterates the necessity and significance of analysis of phytoliths from all the underground and aerial plant parts before utilizing them for taxonomic diagnosis as suggested in some earlier studies as well (Kealhofer et al, 2015 ; Shakoor et al, 2016 ). Here, it may be emphasized that these morphotypes “mark” the individual species only from the other two in the present study.…”

“…Most of the previous studies in grasses have documented phytoliths from above ground parts, mainly the leaf (Tomlinson, 1969 ; Twiss et al, 1969 ; Bonnett, 1972 ; Krishnan et al, 2000 ; Lu and Liu, 2003 ; Prychid et al, 2004 ; Fahmy, 2008 ; Barboni and Bremond, 2009 ; Rudall et al, 2014 ; Shakoor et al, 2014 ; Jattisha and Sabu, 2015 ). Only a limited number of reports are available on phytolith analysis of roots of plant species (Ezell-Chandler et al, 2006 ; Das et al, 2014 ; Soukup et al, 2014 ; Shakoor et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Several studies in the past have utilized data on morphotypes for taxonomic characterization and identification of plant species (Twiss et al, 1969 ; Lau et al, 1978 ; Hodson and Sangster, 1988 ; Ollendorf et al, 1988 ; Whang et al, 1998 ; Krishnan et al, 2000 ; Ponzi and Pizzolongo, 2003 ; Piperno, 2006 ). However, recent studies have enlarged the scope of phytolith research by including data on morphometric measurements and frequency distributions of phytolith morphotypes for taxonomic demarcation of species down the taxonomic hierarchy from family, genus, and species levels (Strömberg, 2009 ; Jattisha and Sabu, 2012 ; Tripathi et al, 2013 ; Szabo et al, 2014 ; Shakoor et al, 2016 ; Ball et al, 2017 ; Out and Madella, 2017 ).…”

“…In India, Jattisha and Sabu ( 2015 ) brought out the taxonomic significance of foliar phytoliths as diagnostic markers in some grasses of South India. More recently, Shakoor et al ( 2016 ) employed phytoliths from underground (root) and aerial (culm, leaf & synflorescence) parts for taxonomic demarcation of two reed grasses, Arundo donax L. and Phragmites karka (Retz.) Trin.…”

“…Parry et al ( 1984 ) marked the biochemical dimension in phytolith characterization by reporting a time dependent accumulation of some elements (K, Cl, P, and S) along with silicon in the silicified microhairs from the lemma of the canary grass, Phalaris canariensis L. and giving evidence of genetic control of silicification. In recent years, physico-chemical characterization of phytoliths has been extended to a study of the physical states (as amorphous vs. crystalline), the mineral composition and the study of functional groups and their bonding patterns through sophisticated methods of analysis (Chauhan et al, 2011 ; Shakoor et al, 2016 ).…”