Tendril Anatomy: A Tool for Correct Identification among Cucurbitaceous Taxa

Abstract

This research examined the histological micro-structure of tendril vasculature in cucurbitaceous taxa. In this research, the tendril anatomy of 17 taxa of Cucurbitaceae categorized into seven genera, including Cucumis (five species), Cucurbita and Luffa (three species each), Citrullus and Momordica (two species each) while Lagenaria and Praecitrullus (one species each), collected from different areas of the Thal desert were examined via microscopic imaging to explore its taxonomic significance. Tendril transverse sections were cut with a Shandon Microtome to prepare slides. The distinctive characteristics of taxonomic value (qualitative and quantitative) include tendril and vascular bundle shape, variation in the number of vascular bundles, tendril diameter length, layers of sclerenchyma, and shape of collenchyma and epidermal cells. Tendril shapes observed are irregular, slightly oval-shaped, slightly C shaped, angular (4-angled, 6-angled, or polygonal), and star shaped. Quantitative measurements were taken to analyze the data statistically using SPSS software. Cucurbita pepo had a maximum tendril diameter length of 656.1 µm and a minimum in Momordica balsamina of 123.05 µm. The highest number of vascular bundles (12) were noticed in Luffa acutangula var.amara. Angular type was prominent in collenchyma, and irregular shape was dominant in sclerenchyma cells. A maximum of seven to nine sclerenchyma layers were present in Lagenaria siceraria and a minimum of two or three layers in Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis, Cucumis melo var. flexuosus, and Cucumis melo var.cantalupensis. Epidermis cells also show great variations with a rectangular shape being dominant. Statistical UPGMA dendrogram clustering of tendril vasculature traits shows that histological sections studied with microscopic techniques can be used to identify species and will play a vital role in future taxonomic and phylogenic linkages.

Comparative Study on Leaf Anatomy in Selected Garcinia Species in Peninsular Malaysia

“…In the family Euphorbiaceae, the distribution of collenchyma is significantly important as the continuous rings of collenchyma were observed in the petiole of three Acalypha species (Tadavi & Badhane, 2014). The morphology of collenchyma was considered for a taxonomical study on Cucurbitaceae (Abbas et al, 2022).…”

“…Besides, the selected Parashorea species can be identified by the appearance of sclerenchyma cells surrounding the main and additional vascular bundles in the lamina (Noraini & Cutler, 2009). Sclerenchyma layers were included as a diagnostic feature of taxonomy value in Cucurbitaceae (Abbas et al, 2022). Noor-Syaheera et al (2015) stated that both sclerenchyma and collenchyma cells act as structural support but vary in elasticity (Coyle, 2004).…”

Pollen Micromorphology among Amaranthaceous Species from Desert Rangeland: Exine Stratification and their Taxonomic Significance

“…The correlation among pollen morphological traits of Amaranthaceous taxa was determined based on Euclidean distance, and the taxa were grouped using a hierarchical clustering analysis method, and UPGMA (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean) was carried out with the PAST statistical tool version 3.0 software [30].…”

Chromatographic authentication of botanical origin: Herbaceous pollen profiling with HPLC, HPTLC and GC–MS analysis

“…Pollen grain micromorphology shows that they contain various chemicals such as exines (Abbas et al, 2022). These chemicals can be used in different ways such as delivering medicine, creating new materials, acting as templates, making carbon microspheres and helping in protein chromatography (Ares et al, 2022; Lu et al, 2014; Majeed et al, 2022).…”