Occurrence and development of a dorsal gland in leaves of Ficus benjamina L. (Weeping Fig) cultivars

Detailed anatomical observations of the dorsal gland and its development in Ficus benjamina L. (Weeping Fig) leaves are reported. The dark spot on the abaxial surface of Ficus benjamina leaves is a normal morphological featur e of the species. It is a highly specialized modified epidermal layer. An i nvestigation of six commercially available cultivars revealed all possessed a glandular dorsal epidermis but not all developed a pigmented gland. The variability in gland thickness suggests that differences exist between cult ivars, Based on histochemical tests, we propose that the term "phenolic gla nd" be substituted for the term "wax gland" found in the literature, as all tests indicated the presence of polyphenols in the glandular epithelium of F. benjamina leaves.