Abstract Detail

Development and Structure

Seago, James L [1].

Anatomical Traits of Hydrophytes.

From De Bary (1877) and Schenck (1885), through Conard (1905) and Arbor (1920), to Sculthorpe (1967) and Justin and Armstrong (1987), botanists have been fascinated with the structural features of hydrophytic plants. Hydrophytes, aquatic and wetland plants, occur in flowering plant groups from the basal angiosperms, Nymphaeales, to the monocots, Acorales to Poales, and the eudicots, Ranales to Asterales. While there are almost no common structural traits to these plants, there are anatomical features which are found in many, depending upon the situations within their hydrophytic habitats, ranging from shallow flowing streams to rivers, ponds, marshes, swamps, and roadside ditches, etc. Primary plant bodies of hydrophytes may exhibit root epidermis with or without root hairs and shoot epidermis with trichomes, glands and hydropoten. The cortex has an endodermis with wall characteristics varying somewhat with habitat and often a hypodermis with an exodermis, which may be the outermost layer of many plants. These barrier layers are also often present in stems of many species, especially those with stems normally under water or in saturated soils. Aerenchyma, in the forms of expansigeny, schizogeny, and lysigeny, is a very common feature, but some hydrophytes, almost uniquely, lack enlarged air spaces. Sclereids, crystals, and various idioblasts are common in cortex, and collenchyma, in particular, is rather common in peripheral ground tissue of stems, petioles, and even leaves. Vascular tissue varies widely, but, while extremely reduced amounts of xylem are found in roots of some species, other species have stems resembling roots and species with polysteles in stems are common in angiosperm hydrophytes. Phloem is often fairly abundant, and sclerenchyma is common among xylem elements of roots and rhizomes. Mycorrhizae may be present, but not many nodule bearing species are hydrophytes.

1 - State University Of New York At Oswego, Professor Emeritus, P O Box 316, Minetto, NY, 13115, USA

Keywords:
anatomy
hydrophytes.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 29, Development and Structure I
Location: 202/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
Time: 4:30 PM
Number: 29012
Abstract ID:146
Candidate for Awards:None