Scape anatomical studies in populations of Urginea indica Kunth. Liliaceae

Abstract

The current study presents investigations on the scape anatomical characteristics of Urginea indica population, a geophyte growing in India, Africa and Mediterranean regions. For scape anatomical studies transverse sections of inflorescence axis were taken and studied for the first time. The twelve different population studied revealed that outer most epidermis of inflorescence is covered by thick cuticle. Cortex is differentiated into 3 regions outer chlorenchyma, middle collenchyma and inner parenchyma. But the shape and number of rows of cells vary in different populations collected from various localities of Karnataka. Vascular bundles are arranged in 3 rows, 2 rows in few populations and number. of vascular bundles vary. Larger bundles varies from 5-8, medium 8-12 and smaller bundles 5 to 21 in number. Xylem elements are uniseriate and biseriate in few. Some populations show Myelin structures and cell inclusions, based on their ecological habitat. The distinctions among cross sections of scapes are evident and our findings offer a comprehensive study using anatomical traits for delimitation and diagnosing populations of U.indica providing a platform for further taxonomic investigations.