Taxonomic significance of epidermal and venation characters in the genus Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the foliar anatomy and venation patterns of thirteen species of the genus Diospyros in Nigeria with a view to identifying characters of great taxonomic value in the genus. Plant collections were made from different locations in Southwest Nigeria and the site of collection georeferenced with a GPS device. Samples were identified at the Herbarium of Botany Department, Obafemi Awolowo University (IFE). Voucher Specimens were deposited in the herbarium and voucher number assigned to each of the species. The samples were subjected to foliar epidermal and venation examinations. Qualitative data were recorded as the quantitative data were subjected to statistical analysis and the characters vary significantly (P = 0.05). Epidermal and venation characters which separate the taxa include stomata type, size and index, shape and size of epidermal cell, trichome type, presence/ absence of crystal/druses, as well as venation. Paxillate venation in D. suaveolens is diagnostic for the species. The presence of parenchymatous sheath over the veins and veinlets in D. tricolor is a spot character. The study reveals that leaf epidermal and venation characters are important in delimitation of species in the genus Diospyros.

On the systematic implication of foliar epidermal micro-morphological and venational characters: diversities in some selected Nigerian species of Combretaceae

“…This is a spot character for the species and according to Illoh (1998) cited in Chappet (1969), the trend of possessing more than one stomata type has been shown in Vicia faba. Patet and Inamdar (1971) also reported such taxonomic character in some Polemoniales as well as Akinsulire et al (2018c) in their investigation into some species of Diospyros L. in Nigeria.…”

“…Foliar venation, though an underutilised and neglected character, has proven to be useful in delimitation of species of Combretaceae investigated. Studies such as of Levin (1986), Provance and Sanders (2006), Akinsulire et al (2018c) have revealed the significance of foliar venation characters in the delimitation of several plant taxa. Regular polygonal reticulate venation and triangular to pentagonal (3 to 5-sided, or 6-sided) areolation seem to be generic for members of the genus Combretum.…”

Comparative anatomical study of leaves for twelve Indonesian woody plant species

“…In addition, many species of Diospyros were not covered by the dense trichome such as D. cauliflora, D. javanica (Rindyastuti et al 2021), and D. lanceifolia (Kalita et al 2015). Akinsulire et al (2018) investigated the taxonomic significance of epidermal and venation characters in the genus Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Nigeria. Based on this study, the shape of epidermal cells of Diospyros spp.…”

“…Anatomical data has been acknowledged in traditional taxonomy because the varieties within a species, genus, or family are frequently reflected in anatomical traits. Although research on the plant's macroscopic morphology and wood anatomy have been proven as useful tools for identifying plants, such as leaf venation (Scott and Buot 2022), foliar epidermal morphology is an important part of the identification criterion (Ahmad et al 2010;Akinsulire et al 2018).…”