Anatomical adjustment of mature leaves of sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) to increased irradiance

Trees regenerating in the understory respond to increased availability of light caused by gap formation by undergoing a range of morphological and physiological adjustments. These adjustments include the production of thick, sun-type leaves containing thicker mesophyll and longer palisade cells than in shade-type leaves. We asked whether in the shade-regenerating tree Acer pseudoplatanus, the increase in leaf thickness and expansion of leaf tissues are possible also in leaves that had been fully formed prior to the increase in irradiance, a response reported so far only for a handful of species. We acclimated potted seedlings to eight levels (from 1 to 100%) of solar irradiance and, in late summer, transferred a subset of them to full sunlight. Within 30 days, the shaded leaves increased leaf mass per area and became thicker mostly due to elongation of palisade cells, except for the most shaded individuals which suffered irreversible photo-oxidative damage. This anatomical acclimation was accompanied by partial degradation of chlorophyll and a transient decline in photosynthetic efficiency of PSII (Fv/FM). These effects were related to the degree of pre-shading. The Fv/FM recovered substantially within the re-acclimation period. However, leaves of transferred plants were shed significantly earlier in the fall, indicating that the acclimation was not fully effective. These results show that A. pseudoplatanus is one of the few known species in which mature leaves may re-acclimate anatomically to increased irradiance. This may be a potentially important mechanism enhancing utilization of gaps created during the growing season.

Pharmacognostical and Phytochemical Studies of Notonia grandiflora Wall

Pharmacognostic evaluation is the first and foremost step to determine the identity and to assess the quality and purity of the crude drug. Notonia grandiflora is a perennial succulent plant, widely used in traditional medicinal system without standardisation. Notonia grandiflora has reported to possess various pharmacological activities such as analgesic and antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, and antipyretic. In the present study, pharmacognostic studies of root, stem, and leaf of Notonia grandiflora is carried out in order to standardize the plant. For standardization of plant material morphological and anatomical characterization was carried out. Physico-chemical parameters viz. ash content, extractive values, heavy metal content was carried out. Transverse section of Notonia grandiflora root shows periderm, cortex xylem parenchyma showing tracheids and phloem. Stem shows epidermis covered externally by cuticle, cortex, vascular bundles and pith. Calcium oxalate crystals, leaf and branch traces were also present in the cortical region of the stem. Leaf lamina showed palisade cells and spongy parenchyma in mesophyll region and anisocytic type of stomata. Powder characters and physico-chemical parameters such as moisture content, extractive values, ash content and heavy metal analysis were performed. The results of current study could be served as a diagnostic tool for the standardization of this medicinal plant and will be helpful in characterization of the crude drug.

Pharmacognostic Specifications of Calotropis procera (Aiton) W. T. Aiton Leaf and Tribulus terrestris L. Fruit: Important Medicinal Plants Used in Veterinary Products

Present article deals with the pharmacognostic specification of selected medicinal plants used in veterinary products for the purpose of their standardization, as evidential support concerning quality determination of plant material in veterinary medicine is scarce and there is poor documentation on primary studies of many species. The plants undertaken for the study were Calotropis procera (Apocynaceae) and Tribulus terresteris (Zygophyllaceae) on the basis of their usage relevance in veterinary products. Both plants are official in Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. Morphology as well as various pharmacognostic aspects of different parts of the plant were studied and have been described, which will help in authentication and quality control. The observed microscopic characters of Calotropis procera leaf were rubiaceous type apostomatic stomata, epidermis, collenchymas, parenchyma, vascular bundles, palisade cells, cortical fibres and lamina, trichomes on the cuticle of lamina. Microscopic characteristics of Tribulus terrestris fruit were epicarp cells showing clusters of calcium oxalate crystals, xylem vessels, group of thin walled sclerenchymatous fibres, group of stone cells of mesocarp. Powder microscopy of the Tribulus terrestris fruit shows abundance of epidermal trichomes - simple, short, long, thick walled, multicellular covered trichomes, sclereids. The qualitative microscopic features would prove useful for laying down their pharmacopoeial standards. The present study also provides the information with respect to identification and authentication of crude drug and serves as a reference point for the proper identification of Calotropis procera leaf and Tribulus terrestris fruit, thereby contributing to the scientific world of research.

Phytochemical & Pharmacological Studies of Moltkiopsis ciliata

The stem and branches have silvery white colour with a pink tint. They bear stiff covering trichomes and leaves or leaves remaining are found at their numerous inter nodes. Dark brown scars are left by falling leaves. The branches are brittle and their outer layer separate on breaking. Microscopically، the powder shown many free conical، warty، tapering covering trichomes of various lengths and sizes; the comparatively smaller ones belong to leaves while the significantly large ones are detached from stem and branches. The powder also shows light orange-brown fragments of leaf exhibiting compact endings of palisade cells rounded in outlines; some of these fragments bear many covering trichomes. There are also many grey or grayish-brown fragments of fibro-vascular tissues of branches، some are thick and closely packed، in addition to many fragments of light brown bark cells polygonal or almost square in outlines.

Struktur Anatomi Daun Phyllanthaceae di Kabupaten Banggai Kepulauan

Abstrak Pengenalan ciri makhluk hidup dalam praktik identifikasi sebagian besar menggunakan ciri morfologi. Ciri anatomi memperkuat ciri morfologi atau menyelesaikan permasalahan kerancuan identifikasi secara morfologi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui karakter anatomi daun pada 11 spesies famili Phyllanthaceae yang ditemukan di wilayah eksplorasi Kabupaten Banggai Kepulauan. Metode yang digunakan adalah pembuatan preparat paradermal dan transversal helai dan tangkai daun. Karakter yang diamati pada setiap preparat adalah karakter paradermal yaitu epidermis dan derivatnya, karakter transversal meliputi bentuk dan jumlah lapisan epidermis, mesofil, keberadaan kristal dan karakter khusus spesies serta bentuk berkas pengangkut pada tulang daun dan tangkai daun. Berdasarkan preparat paradermal daun diperoleh tipe daun hipostomatik dengan tipe stomata umumnya parasitik dan anomositik, dan ditemukan variasi tipe stomata anisositik pada Baccaurea nanihua dan Antidesma excavatum. Pada preparat transversal diperoleh tipe daun dorsiventral, bentuk epidermis dan jaringan tiang yang beragam. Pada organ tangkai daun, ditemukan empat tipe berkas pengangkut, yaitu bentuk lonjong dengan dua tambahan berkas pengangkut, bentuk dasar menyerupai ginjal, bentuk semi-lunar, dan bentuk lonjong dengan satu berkas pengangkut. Abstract Morphological characters are commonly used as a tool for plant identification. Anatomical characters can also be used as additional characters to provide strong descriptions of morphological characters and to resolve unclear identification of morphological characters. This study aims to identify leaf anatomical characters of 11 species of Phyllanthaceae family collected from the Banggai Kepulauan Regency. The characters are observed in each slide were paradermal characters, namely epidermis and its derivatives; transverse characters including the shape and number of epidermal layers, mesophyll, presence of crystals and species-specific characters as well as the shape of the vascular bundle on the midrib and petiole. The observation on paradermal section of lamina showed that all species have hypostomatic leaf, parasitic and anomocytic stomata types with variation of the anisocytic types were found in Baccaurea nanihua and Antidesma excavatum.Observation of the transverse section showed dorsiventral leaf types, size variation of upper epidermal cells as well as variations of palisade cells. The observation on transverse section of the petiole showed four types of vascular bundles in the petiole: oval shape along with two small separated vascular, the kidney – like shape, the semi-lunar shape and oval single vascular bundle.

Micro-Structural Stability of Micropropagated Plants of Vitex negundo L.

Micropropagation techniques allow producing large numbers of clones of genetically identical plants. However, there is evidence of disorders in internal structures due to sophisticated in vitro conditions. Such variations are responsible for the mortality of plantlets in the field and cause huge loss to the tissue culture industry. Anatomical evaluation at different growth conditions allows for understanding structural repair of in vitro raised plantlets. Therefore, the present study was aimed to identify the structural changes that occurred in micropropagated plants of Vitex negundo under heterotrophic, photomixotrophic, and photoautotrophic conditions. To achieve this, structural variations were analyzed in the plantlets obtained from in vitro, greenhouse and field transferred stages using light microscopy. Underdeveloped dermal tissues, palisade cells, intercellular spaces, mechanical tissues, vascular bundles, and ground tissues were observed with the plants growing under in vitro conditions. The self-repairing of structural disorders and transitions in vegetative anatomy was observed during hardening under the greenhouse environment. Field transferred plantlets were characterized by well-developed internal anatomy. These findings showed that the micropropagated plantlets of V. negundo were well-adapted through a series of self-repairing the in vitro induced structural abnormalities at the subsequent stages of plant development.

The genus Dolichandrone (Fenzl.) Seem. (Bignoniaceae) in Thailand

Boonthasak W, Ngernsaengsaruay C. 2021. The genus Dolichandrone (Fenzl.) Seem. (Bignoniaceae) in Thailand. Biodiversitas 22: 1120-1128. Morphological, anatomical, and palynological studies of the genus Dolichandrone (Bignoniaceae) Thailand were conducted. Three species, D. columnaris Santisuk, D. serrulata (Wall. ex DC.) Seem., and D. spathacea (L. f.) Seem. were investigated. Morphological descriptions, distributions and ecological information are provided. A key to the species based on morphological characters are leaflet margins, length of lower cylindric tube and upper campanulate tube of corolla, width of upper campanulate tube of corolla, winged seed, shape and characters of fruits, width of septum, characters and width of pseudoseptum. D. columnaris occurs in low-lying rice fields and marshlands only in the peninsular region. D. serrulata occurs in mixed deciduous forest and low-lying rice fields in the eastern, central and peninsular regions. D. spathacea occurs in edges of mangrove forest in the central, south-eastern and peninsular regions. A key to the species based on anatomical characters includes leaf type, number of rows of palisade cells, arrangement of axial parenchyma, and height of ray parenchyma. All pollen grains are similar and do not provide characters for identification within the genus Dolichandrone.

Evaluation of Pharmacognostic Characteristics of the Leaf of Ageratum houstonianum Mill. Compositae

Background: It is a well-known fact that therapeutic efficacy and safety of medicinal plants depend on the quality and quantity of chemical constituents and that the misuse of medicinal plants starts with wrong identification.Objectives: The aim of this study is to establish some pharmacognostic standards for Ageratum houstonianum Mill (Compositae) which has high medicinal values, with a view to determining the proper identification and other quality control parameters of the plant.Method: The fresh leaf and powdered leaves were subjected to macroscopy and microscopy using standard procedures. In addition, some physicochemical evaluations such as moisture content, ash and soluble extractives were carried out on the powdered leaves.Results: The result shows that the leaf is simple, pinnate, diamond shaped, serrated margin, acute apex and asymetrical base. Microscopically, the leaf is amphistomatic in nature with anomocytic and anisocytic stomata at the adaxial and anomocytic and diacytic at the abaxial surface. Non-glandular uniseriate trichomes are present on both surfaces. The transverse section across the midrib shows epidermis, collenchyma, palisade cells and a few rolls of phloem around the xylem vessels. The stomata numbers and stomata indices for the upper and lower surface, respectively are1.4 and 10.2 and 2.9 and 15.6. Moisture content, total ash, acid insoluble ash, water soluble ash, sulphated ash, water soluble and alcohol soluble extractives yields 10.3%, 15.2%, 0.8%, 20.2%, 14.4% and 5.1%, respectively.Conclusion: The findings in this study are useful for establishing standards suitable for official monographs on Ageratum houstonianum proper identification and quality control. Keywords: Pharmacognostic standards, Ageratum houstonianum, Quality control

Ultrastructure of mesophyll cells of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana L.) after hyperthermia

The influence of hyperthermia (33 ºC, 2 days) on the ultrastructure of palisade cells of mesophyll of the first rosette leaves of arabidopsis Columbia 0 ecotype (Col-0, phases 1.02–1.04) was studied. Samples of 12-day-old seedlings were selected in 2 variants: control and 2 days 33 ºC. Seedlings of the control variant were grown in a growth chamber with a photoperiod of 15/9 hours. (day/night), illumination 5.5 klx, 75 % humidity and temperature 22 ºC. In the experimental variant containers with 9-day-old seedlings were transferred for 2 days to a growth chamber with a preset light 5.5 klx and temperature 33 ºC, with a photoperiod of 15/9 hours. The conducted ultrastructural analysis allowed to reveal the spectrum of rearrangements of palisade cells after two-day action of high (33 ºC) temperature. It was shown that the high temperature negatively affected size of mesophyll palisade cells, the cross-sectional area of which was 12 % smaller than in the control. Chloroplasts show an increase in granality: in the control granas contained 6–10 thylakoids, often combining into larger granas, up to 20 or more thylakoids in the intersection zone, while after two-day hyperthermia the granas contained 20 or more thylakoids, often forming giant granas of 60 and more thylakoids, the average cross-sectional area of starch granules decreased by almost half: 0.99 μm2 compared to 1.92 μm2 in the control, the diameter of plastoglobuli increased 3–4 times: to 100–200 nm compared to 30–50 nm in the control. In mitochondria, there was a decrease in the partial volume of the cristae, enlightenment of the matrix, the cross-section of mitochondria increased at least twice: 1 μm2 compared to 0.44 μm2 in the control. The mean cross-sectional area of peroxisomes also increased at least twice, to 1.36 μm2 compared with 0.77 μm2 in the control.

Canopy position affects photosynthesis and anatomy in mature Eucalyptus trees in elevated CO2

Leaves are exposed to different light conditions according to their canopy position, resulting in structural and anatomical differences with consequences for carbon uptake. While these structure–function relationships have been thoroughly explored in dense forest canopies, such gradients may be diminished in open canopies, and they are often ignored in ecosystem models. We tested within-canopy differences in photosynthetic properties and structural traits in leaves in a mature Eucalyptus tereticornis canopy exposed to long-term elevated CO2 for up to three years. We explored these traits in relation to anatomical variation and diffusive processes for CO2 (i.e., stomatal conductance, gs and mesophyll conductance, gm) in both upper and lower portions of the canopy receiving ambient and elevated CO2. While shade resulted in 13% lower leaf mass per area ratio (MA) in lower versus upper canopy leaves, there was no relationship between leaf Nmass and canopy gap fraction. Both maximum carboxylation capacity (Vcmax) and maximum electron transport (Jmax) were ~ 18% lower in shaded leaves and were also reduced by ~ 22% with leaf aging. In mature leaves, we found no canopy differences for gm or gs, despite anatomical differences in MA, leaf thickness and mean mesophyll thickness between canopy positions. There was a positive relationship between net photosynthesis and gm or gs in mature leaves. Mesophyll conductance was negatively correlated with mean parenchyma length, suggesting that long palisade cells may contribute to a longer CO2 diffusional pathway and more resistance to CO2 transfer to chloroplasts. Few other relationships between gm and anatomical variables were found in mature leaves, which may be due to the open crown of Eucalyptus. Consideration of shade effects and leaf-age dependent responses to photosynthetic capacity and mesophyll conductance are critical to improve canopy photosynthesis models and will improve understanding of long-term responses to elevated CO2 in tree canopies.