Abstract

SCARELI-SANTOS, Claudia; SANCHEZ-MONDRAGON, María L.; GONZALEZ-RODRIGUEZ, Antonio  and  OYAMA, Ken. Foliar micromorphology of Mexican oaks (Quercus: Fagaceae). Act. Bot. Mex [online]. 2013, n.104, pp.31-52. ISSN 2448-7589.

Mexico is the main center of diversity of the genus Quercus in the Western Hemisphere. Despite recent advances in the knowledge of Mexican oaks, a degree of taxonomic confusion still remains, mainly within particular species complexes. In this study, scanning electron microscopy was used to describe micromorphological foliar structures (trichomes, epicuticular waxes and stomata) from the abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces of Mexican oak species, with the main goal of assessing the taxonomical utility of these characters. In total, 27 species belonging to sections Quercus (white oaks) and Lobatae (red/black oaks) were examined, particularly focusing on several groups of closely related species with problematic taxonomic delimitation and on species that are known to hybridize. Several trichome types were observed, including both glandular (simple and bulbous) and eglandular (solitary, multiradiate, stellate, fused stellate and fasciculate stipitate). Epicuticular waxes were structured as films, grooved films, crusts, granules, platelets and platelets arranged in rosettes. Stomata were elliptical and raised above or leveled with the foliar surface. Among the three types of structures examined, trichomes appeared to be the most useful for taxonomical purposes, followed by epicuticular waxes. All species had different combinations of character states for these micromorphological structures, which permitted the elaboration of keys to identify species within the problematic groups.

Keywords : epicuticular waxes; foliar trichomes; Quercus; stomata; taxonomy.

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