COMPARATIVE LEAF ANATOMICAL STUDIES OF SOME STERCULIA L. SPECIES (STERCULIACEAE)

A comparative study was undertaken on the leaves of 12 Sterculia speci es in order to assess anatomical variations which may be useful in spe cies identification and to evaluate their significance in the taxonomy of the genus. All species have glandular and non-glandular trichomes, anomocytic stomata, multiple and mucilaginous epidermis, mucilaginous cavities and druses in mesophyll tissues. A small amount of variation was observed in the outline of transverse sections of midribs and pet ioles, the presence of central vascular bundles, and the type of trich omes. Some characters, such as the vertically divided adaxial epidermi s in S. macrophylla, are unique to certain species and are therefore u seful in diagnostic characters, while S. coccinea and S. elongata appe ar to be similar in the structure of the petiole and midrib. The resul ts, however, do not show any groupings of species and do not support t he observations of others on groups derived from wood anatomy. (C) 199 8 The Linnean Society of London.