Nb. Jones et al., LEAF ANATOMY, CHLOROPLAST ORGANIZATION AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC RATE OF HYPERHYDRIC EUCALYPTUS-SALIGNA SM MATERIAL, South African journal of botany, 59(5), 1993, pp. 551-555
Morphological, anatomical and ultrastructural differences between leaf
tissues of field-grown and normal and hyperhydric in vitro-cultured E
ucalyptus saligna were investigated. Hyperhydric material showed abnor
mal, often discontinuous development of the epidermis and cuticle. Sto
mata were malformed. The leaf lamina appeared thickened and was charac
terized by poor differentiation between the palisade and spongy mesoph
yll. The chlorophyll content of hyperhydric material was significantly
less than that of field-grown and normal cultured material. Hyperhydr
ic leaves had a significantly lower chloroplast number per cell and ch
loroplasts showed reduced thylakoid stacking. The gross photosynthetic
rate of hyperhydric tissue was less than that of normal cultured mate
rial.