Wood anatomy of root and stem and their ecological significance of 3 arid species in Lycium

摘要

Wood structures of roots and stems and their ecological significance have been studied in detail for 3 xerophytes of Lycium. In the light of wood anatomy, the species take on some xerophic structures, but they are not so striking as they are in the case of typical xerophytes. In the wood, there's a structure similar to intercellular cavity. The cavity is surrounded by parenchyma containing gum-like deposits. Its real function could not be defined yet, but, at least, the structure can increase quantity of gum- like deposits, which can absorb and store water. In the three species, L. truncalum endures drought much better. The difference between root and stem mainly lies in the fact that ray number in stem is always more than that in root.