TurkJBot 30(2006)175-180 ©TÜB‹TAK ResearchArticle TheMorphologyandAnatomyof Crocusflavus Westonsubsp. flavus (Iridaceae) CananÖZDEM‹R1,PelinBARAN1,YurdanurAKYOL2 1 CelalBayarUniversity,FacultyofArtsandScience,Manisa-TURKEY 2 EgeUniversity,FacultyofArtsandScience,‹zmir-TURKEY Received:1301.2005 Accepted:20.12.2005 Abstract: Themorphologicalandanatomicalcharacteristicsof Crocusflavus Westonsubsp. flavus (Iridaceae)wereinvestigated. Cross-sectionsoftheroot,stem,cormandleafpartsof C.flavus subsp.flavus wereexaminedandcross-sectionsoftheroot,stem andleafdemonstratedbyillustrations.Thecorm-tunicismembranous,splittingintoverticalfibresandlackingdistincthoriz ontal ringsatthebase.Thestyleisobscurelytrilobedorslightlydivided.Thesefeaturesarecharacteristicof C.flavus subsp.flavus. Differencessuchasshapeofleafkeelandbranchingofstyleweredeterminedbycomparingtheresultsobtainedfromthissubspecies withtheresultsobtainedfromtheothersubspecies Crocusflavus Westonsubsp.dissectusandspeciesofIridaceaeinprevious studies. KeyWords: Crocusflavus,Morphology,Anatomy Crocusflavus Westonsubsp.flavus (Iridaceae)ÜzerindeMorfolojikveAnatomikBirÇal›flma Özet: Buçal›flmada Crocusflavus Westonsubsp. flavus’unmorfolojikveanatomiközellikleriincelenmifltir.Anatomikçal›flmalarda bitkininkök,gövde,kormveyaprakk›s›mlar›ndanal›naneninekesitlerincelenmiflveeldeedilenbulgularçizimlerlegösterilm ifltir. Taksonunkormusörtüsününparalelfibrilliolmas›,tabandahalkal›yap›yasahipolmamas›vesitilusununk›smenüçparçal›oluflu bu taksoniçinkarakteristiközelliklerdir.Buçal›flmadaeldeedilensonuçlardi¤erbiralttürolan Crocusflavus Westonsubsp.dissectus ileveIridaceae’nindi¤ertürleriileilgiliyap›lanöncekiçal›flmalarilekarfl›laflt›r›lm›flt›r. AnahtarSözcükler: Crocusflavus,Morfoloji,Anatomi Introduction flavus subsp. flavus,thesubject ofthisstudy,tobe Turkeyhasarichvegetationduetoitsgeological foundexceptfortheknowledgepublishedinFloraof structure,geologicalpositionandclimatecharacters. Turkeyandchromosomestudies(Heywood,1983; Thegenus Crocus L.isrepresentedby36speciesin Davis,1984).Weaimedtogivedetailedknowledge Turkey(Güneretal., 2000).Manyspeciesofthefamily aboutthespeciesandcompareitwiththeotherspecies Iridaceaearegrowninparksandgardensasornamental ofIridaceae. plantsduetotheirbeautifulflowers(Baytop,1984). Some Crocus specieswereusedformakingdye, MaterialsandMethods perfumeandmedicamentsaslongagoas1600B.C.The saffroncrocus( Crocussativus L.)wasthefirsttobe Plantsampleswerecollectedfromthenatural cultivatedandhasbeengrownforeconomicpurposes populationin2003.Theywerepreservedinthe sinceancienttimes.Abdullaev(2003)pointedoutthat herbariumatCelalBayarUniversityFacultyofArtsand thesaffroncouldbeusefulincancerchemopreventionin Science,DepartmentofBiology.Sampleswerecollected theimmediatefuture.No Crocusspeciesexcept Crocus from: sativus weredefineduntilthe16 th century(Brightonet B1(Salihli-Bahçecikdistrict)foreston31.01.2003, al.,1980).Thereisnodetailedinformationabout C. 600m,(Baran014). 175 TheMorphologyandAnatomyof Crocusflavus Westonsubsp.flavus (Iridaceae) Thetaxonomicdescriptionoftheplantwascarried distinctwhitemedianstripe,pubescent.Theflowersare outaccordingtoDavis(1984).Freshsampleswereused usually1,sometimes2innumber.Theperianthsegments ineachcaseforexperimentalanalysisandmeasurements. aredarkyellowororangeandtheyare1-3.5 × 0.5-1.5 Anatomicalworkwascarriedoutusingfreshsamples cminsize.Thethroatperianthisyellow.Styleisshorter tissuestoredinalcohol(70%)andparaffin-infiltrated thananther.Itisyellow,dividedinto3short,usually tissues(Algan,1981).Crosssectionsofroot,stem,corm expandedbranches.Thefilamentisyelloworpaleorange andleaveswerecut. and2-5mminsize.Theanthersareyellowand8-12mm insize.Thecormofthetaxonisabout1-2.5cmin diameter,depressedglobose.Thecormtunicsare Results membranous,splittingintoverticalfibresandlacking MorphologicalProperties distincthorizontalringsatthebase(Figure1).The Theleavesofthetaxonare4-8,usually5innumber floweringperiodisFebruarytoApril.Theplantsare oneachplant.Theleavesareabout10-23cm × 1-4mm distributedfromsealevelto1200maltitude,inwoods, insize.Theseleavesareerect,synanthous,greenwitha scrubandgrassland. g b f h a c e l d Figure1.Generalappearanceof C.flavus subsp.flavus. a.plant(x0.75)b.perianthsegment(x1.65)c.style(x2)d.cormtunic(x0.75) e.stamen(x5)f.leaf(x0.75)g.fruit(x5)h.ovary(x2.5)l.seed(x10). 176 C.ÖZDEM‹R,P.BARAN,Y.AKYOL AnatomicalProperties Stem: Transversesectionofthestemshowsthatitis Root: Epidermissinglelayeredontheoutersurfaceof formedofepidermiscellswithnearlythesameheightand root.Intransversesectionthesecellsare4sidedandthin width,anditssizeis10-20 × 10-15µ.Cortexcellsare walled,8-10 × 6-10µinsize.Cortexis4-6layered, 1-5layeredunderepidermisandcelldiameteris15-60µ. ovoidalparenchymaticwithintercellularspaces.Diameter Thesecellshavenointercellularspaces.Vascularbundles ofthesecellsis50-62µ.Endodermiscellsare12-18× arelocatedtotheperipheryandcentreofstem.These 8-12µandtheyarethinwalled.Pericycleislocatedinside vascularbundlesvaryinsize.Thenumberofvascular endodermisandsizesofthesecellsare5-10 × 3-5µ. bundlesintheperipheralpartisusually8.Thenumber Singlemetaxylemispresentonthemedianpartof ofvascularbundlesinthecentreis4(Figure3.a,b, vascularcylinder.Fourxylemstrandsarepresentonthe Table1). peripheryofthevascularcylinderandthesestrandsreach thepericycle(Figure2,Table1). e 20µ m c en Figure2.Cross-sectionofrootof C.flavus subsp.flavus. e-epidermis;c-cortex;en-endodermis;m-metaxylem. Table1.Measurementsofvarioustissuesintransversesectionof C.flavus subsp.flavus. Width(µ) Length(µ) min.max. min.max. Root Epidermiscell 8-10 6-10 Endodermiscell 12-18 8-12 Diameterofparenchymacell 50-62 Metaxylemdiameter 20-50 Pericylecell 5-10 3-5 Stem Epidermiscell 10-20 10-15 Diameterofcortexcell 15-60 Diameteroftrachearyelement 10-20 Leaf Cuticle5-12 Adaxialepidermiscell 10-15 10-18 Abaxialepidermiscell 8-25 8-16 Corm Epidermiscell 5-12 15-25 Diameterofcortexcell 20-60 177 TheMorphologyandAnatomyof Crocusflavus Westonsubsp.flavus (Iridaceae) e c 180µ e c v v ab Figure3a.Cross-sectionofstemof C.flavussubsp.flavus b.enlargementoftheshownareaa. e-epidermis;c-cortex;v-vascularbundle. Leaf: Leaveshaveacentraltriangularkeeland2long Discussion lateralarmswiththeirmarginsrecurvedtowardsthe Inthisstudy,weaimedtodemonstratethe keel.Thecharacteristicpalestriperunningaxiallyalong characteristicsofC.flavussubsp.flavusbyevaluatingthe thecentreoftheleafiscausedbytheparenchymatous resultsobtainedfrommorphologicalandanatomical cellsinthekeel,whichlackchloroplastsandbreakdown investigations.Morphologicaldifferenceswere toformanairspace(Figure4.a,b).Bothadaxialand determinedbycomparingtheresultsobtainedfromthis abaxialsurfaces,exceptthepartsinthegrooveshavea subspecieswiththosepublishedontheothersubspecies thickcuticle.Theepidermisissinglelayeredonabaxial C.flavus subsp. dissectus andspeciesof Iridaceae in andadaxialsurfacesoftheleaf.Thesecellsareslightly previousstudies(Baytopetal.,1975;Özyurt,1978; furnishedwithpapillaeonthegroovepartsofthearms; Rudall&Mathew,1990).Thedifferencesobtainedinthis waywereexaminedinbothmorphologicalandanatomical stomataarepresentonthesegroovedparts.Mesophyll aspects.Inthestudydealingwith C. flavus subsp. cellsaremoreorlessuniforminshape.Vascularbundles dissectus, itwasdeterminedthatthistaxonis arelocatedinonerowandbelowtheabaxialepidermis. distinguishedfromC. flavus subsp. flavus bythestyle Thebundlesheathconsistsofsclerenchymaticcellsatthe beingdistinctlydividedintoseveralslenderbranches, phloempoleofmajorbundles(Figure4.a,b).Thewalls whichisunliketheobscurelytrilobeddividedstyleof C. ofabaxialepidermiscellsaresinuousinsurfacesections flavussubsp.flavus(Baytopetal.,1975). Thisdistinctive oftheleaf.Abaxialepidermishasstomatawhilethe characterofanobscurelytrilobeddividedstylewasalso adaxialepidermishasnostomata(Figure5.a,b,Table1). observedinthepresentstudy.Inourfindingsthe Corm: Thecormissurroundedbyscaleleaves.The investigatedspecieshaveleaveswhicharedistinctly pubescentonthesurfaceoftheblade.Thissamefeature epidermisissinglelayeredandcubical.Thecortexis hasbeenobservedinC.flavussubsp.dissectus(Baytopet multilayeredwithovoidalcells.Diameteroftheseis20- al.,1975). 60µ.Vascularbundlesarearrangedin3rings.The vascularbundlesinthecentreofthecormarelargerthan Inanatomicalstudiesithasbeendeterminedthatthe rootofthetaxonhas4protoxylemgroups.Therootdoes thoseinotherpartsofthecorm. nothavepith,insteadithasmetaxylem.Thesamefeature 178 C.ÖZDEM‹R,P.BARAN,Y.AKYOL e 32µ m v e v m ab Figure4a.Cross-sectionofleafof C.flavus subsp.flavus b.enlargementoftheshownareaa e.abaxialepidermis;m-mesophyll;v-vascularbundle. e s e 35µ ab Figure5a.Adaxialsurface-sectionofleafof C.flavus subsp.flavus b.Abaxialsurface-section s-stomatae-epidermalcell. hasbeenreportedontherootof CrocusaeriusHerbert, hasbeenobservedin R.columnae subsp. columnae, C. RomuleacolumnaeSebast.&Maurisubsp.columnaeand fleischeri andC.danfordia, whileithasnotbeenobserved Crocuspulchellus Herbert(Özyurt,1978;Kutbayetal., inthestemofC.pulchellus (Özdemiretal.,2004).While 2001).Thethickeningisnotclearonthewallsofthe theleavesoftheinvestigatedtaxonhaveacentralslightly endodermalcells,whilein C.fleischeri Gay, and C. triangularkeel,theleavesofother Crocusspecies havea danfordiaeMawthisthickeningisclearonthewallsof rectangularkeel(Özyurt,1978;Brightonetal.,1980). theendodermalcells(Özdemiretal.,2004).Accordingto Theleaveshaveapalestriperunningaxiallyalongthe theresultsofthisstudy,vascularbundlesarelocatedin centreoftheleaf.Thisisacommonfeatureinthegenus theperipheralandcentralpartsofthestem.Thisfeature (Rudall&Mathew,1990).Thecellsonthegroovedparts