FOLIAR ORNAMENTATION AND SURFACE MICRO-MORPHOLOGY OF DOCTOR TREE (MORINGA OLEIFERA LAM.) SEEDLING – AN ACCESSION FROM KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Foliar ornamentation and surface micro-morphology of Doctor Tree (Moringa oleifera Lam.) seedling is described. According to Garwood’s (1996) classification of seedlings, the seedling of M. oleifera was cryptocotylar- hypogeal- Reserve type with short subterranean hypocotyl. Anticlinal wall of epidermis of mature leaflets was sinuous on dorsal as well as ventral surface. There were three types of trichomes 1) Unicellular smooth walled, straight and apically pointed non-glandular trichomes, 2) Trichomes with curved apex and warted wall and 3) glandular (capitate, exoglands) trichomes were present on petiole, rachii and margins of young leaves. Leaf was hypostomatous and stomata were of anomocytic type. Contiguous stomata of Juxtaposed, at right angle and superimposed types were present. The stomatal density varied on lateral and terminal leaflets. It averaged to 164.82 ± 2.859 (N = 90; CV: 16.45%) stomata per mm2 on larger-sized terminal leaflet and 202.07 ± 3.55 (N = 65; CV: 14.15%) stomata per mm2 on the smaller lateral leaflet. The length of stomata averaged to 19.86 ± 0.57 μm (varying from 14.40 to 28.80 μm, CV: 16.95%) and stomatal width averaged to 9.05 ± 0.3325 μm (varying from 5.60 to 12.8 μm, CV: 21.73%). Waviness of the epidermal cells, in terms of crests per cell, on dorsal surface of leaflet averaged to 6.64 ± 0.15 wave crests per cell varying from 3 to 11 (CV = 22.61%). On ventral surface of leaflet waviness averaged to 6.68 ± 0.173 varying from 3 to 12 (CV = 25.87%). The foliar characters such as sinuous epidermal anticlinal wall pattern, hypostomaticity, the presence of contiguous stomata and the occurrence of warted wall trichomes of our accession from Karachi resembled to that of South Gujrat (India) accession described by Vyas (2019).Key Words: Moringa oleifera Lam., Foliar ornamentation, micromorphology, trichomes of our accession from Karachi resembled to that of South Gujrat (India) accession described by Vyas (2019).