Cuticle Micromorphology of Parasitaxus de Laubenfels (Podocarpaceae).

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Ko, H.
  • Stockey, R.A.
  • Woltz, P.

• Cuticle micromorphology of three collections of the parasitic conifer Parasitaxus ustus (Vieillard) de Laubenfels (Podocarpaceae) was studied with scanning electron microscopy. External and internal cuticle features of abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces of both vegetative and epimatium-bearing branches are characterized. Leaves are amphistomatic with an abaxial tip lacking stomata and a small marginal frill. Cuticle is thin and external surfaces exhibit sunken Florin rings and highly undulating epidermal cell surfaces. Stomata have a scattered orientation on the leaf and have three to six subsidiary cells. Cuticle on the subsidiary cells, guard cells, and epidermal cells is smooth to slightly granular. Stomata lack polar extensions. Epidermal cells have variable shapes but are more elongate and rectangular near the abaxial leaf tip and between stomatal groups. Micromorphological characters are compared to those of the host plant, Falcatifolium taxoides (Brongniart et Gris.) de Laubenfels, and Florin's Dacrydium group C species that are considered by some workers to represent three separate genera: Halocarpus Quinn, Lepidothamnus Philippi, and Lagarostrobos Quinn. Micromorphologically cuticles are most similar to those of the genus Lepidothamnus, in particular L. fonkii Philippi, but those of Parasitaxus have less granular epidermal cell surfaces and a more irregular outline to the stomatal apparatus.

• Date created

  1995

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Australia
  • Cones

• Type of Item

  Article (Published)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3610W324

• License

  Copyright 1995 by The University of Chicago