DIFFERENCES IN ADAPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF LEAF BLADE STRUCTURES BETWEEN SOME SUN-LOVING AND SHADE-LOVING PLANTS COLLECTED IN THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE

Abstract

Some sun-loving and shade-loving plants such as Cinnamomum camphora, Dimocarpus longan, Averrhoa carambola, Arachis hypogaea, Capsicum baccatum and Calathea makoyana,  Dracaena surculosa punctulata, Peristrophe roxburghiana, Chlorophytum elatum, respectively are popular plants in many localities of Vietnam. They have a number of uses as food, timber, medicines, ornamental ..., therefore they are research objects of many scientists. In this study, we present the research results on adaptive characteristics of leaf blade structures of some sun-loving and shade-loving plants collected in Thai Nguyen. The method for microscopic slides preparation, observation and structural description were used followed the instructions of S. T. Hoang and N. P. Nguyen (2008). The observation results of thirty microscopic slides showed that the mesophyll of sun-loving plants is divided into palisade mesophyll and spongy mesophyll layer. The palisade mesophyll layer is well-developed with the thickness varies from 110 to180 µm while the spongy mesophyll layer is thinner (50 -110 µm). The anatomical characteristics of leaf blade of shade-loving plants showed a high adaptability to low-light conditions, displayed in a leaf blade structure without palisade mesophyll layer, but spongy mesophyll layer is well-developed (80-250 µm). In contrast to sun-loving plants, the upper epidermis layer and cuticle layer of shade-loving plants are thinner with the size of 10-50 µm and 1-5 µm, respectively. This study aims to provide an essential resource for research as well as teaching and learning in botany and ecology.