Document Type : Original Article
Author
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agricultural, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Abstract
This study was conducted on 10 speciesrepresenting 4generabelonging to Convolvulaceae.These specieswere Ipomoea batatas, I. cairica, I. carnea, I. pes-caprea, I. tricolor, Convolvulus arvensis, C. scammonia, Cuscuta chinensis, C. pedicellata and Cressa cretica. The study was done on the morphological and anatomical characters of stems, leaves and flowers. The results were recorded in the form of a comparison among the examined taxa. All the examined species were chlorophyllous except only two taxa Cuscuta chinensis and Cuscuta pedicellata that were parasite. Cressa cretica is perennial, however Cuscuta chinensis and Cuscuta pedicellata were annual. The herb species were Convolvulus arvensis, C. scammonia, Cuscuta chinensis, C. pedicellata and Cressa cretica. The shrub species was Ipomoea carnea. All the investigated species have weak stems in various forms; either twining as Convolvulus arvensis or prostrate stem as Ipomoea pes-caprea, while Ipomoea carnea and Cressa cretica have erect stems. The leaves of the majority of taxa were simple as in Ipomoea cairica except Cuscuta chinensis and Cuscuta pedicellata were leafless. The leaves were unlobed as in Convolvulus arvensis, C. scammonia, Cressa cretica, Ipomoea carnea and Ipomoea pes-caprea. The lobed leaves were found in Ipomoea cairica, I. batatas and I. tricolor. The leaves were hastate in Convolvulus arvensis, cordate in Ipomoea carnea, palmately-lobed in Ipomoea cairica andorbicular in Ipomoea pes-caprea. The flowers present in an inflorescence in most taxa such as Ipomoea tricolor or in solitary status as in Convolvulus arvensis. The anatomical study shows that the stem center in the cross section was solid in all taxa, except Ipomoea carnea that was hollow. The leaves mesophyll consists of palisade and spongy tissue in most of the plants or palisade tissue only as in Convolvulus scammonia and Ipomoea carnea.
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