Intraspecific Variability in Foliar Micro-Morphology of Pellionia heyneana Wedd. (Urticaceae), from Western Ghats

摘要

Pellionia heyneana Wedd., an erect herb of family Urticaceae is used by the primitive tribe Cholanaikans of Kerala for enhancing general health and immunity of children. The objective of the study was to document the leaf micro-morphological featuresand to assess the leaf epidermal variability among 25 accessions of P. heyneana from the Western Ghats. The accessions were characterised by selected qualitative and quantitative characters, and the data were statistically evaluated. The foliar micro-morphology of P. heyneana reveals extensive intraspecific variation in epidermal features. In the present study, twin stomata were observed in seven accessions, documented for the first time in this species as well as in the genus Pellionia. Further, the presence of anisocytic, brachyparacytic, diacytic and paracytic types of stomata were reported for the first time in this species. Variation in trichomes and cystolith morphology was also observed. Principal components analysis (PCA) clearly showed variations among the accessions of P. heyneana', this was reflected also in the UPGMA and correlation analysis.