THE VARIATION OF CYSTOLITHS AND ITS TAXONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE IN ACANTHACEAE OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

SITI MAISARAH  ZAKARIA; CHE NURUL AINI CHE  AMRI; NORAINI  TALIP; ABDUL  LATIFF; AMIRUL AIMAN AHMAD  JUHARI; ROZILAWATI  SHAHARI; NUR SHUHADA  TAJUDIN; MOHAMAD RUZI ABDUL  RAHMAN

doi:10.55230/mabjournal.v49i5.1634

Authors

SITI MAISARAH ZAKARIA Department of Plant Science, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 25200 Kuantan, Pahang
CHE NURUL AINI CHE AMRI
chenurulainicheamri@iium.edu.my
Department of Plant Science, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 25200 Kuantan, Pahang
NORAINI TALIP School of Environment and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor
ABDUL LATIFF School of Environment and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor
AMIRUL AIMAN AHMAD JUHARI Department of Environment, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor
ROZILAWATI SHAHARI Department of Plant Science, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 25200 Kuantan, Pahang
NUR SHUHADA TAJUDIN Department of Plant Science, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 25200 Kuantan, Pahang
MOHAMAD RUZI ABDUL RAHMAN School of Environment and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor

Keywords:

Cystolith cells, leaf anatomy, taxonomic significance, Acanthaceae

Abstract

The foliar anatomical studies of 41 species of Acanthaceae from Peninsular Malaysia had been carried out. This study aims to identify the morphology and distributions of cystoliths in leaf anatomy and their taxonomic values in species studied of Acanthaceae. The foliar anatomical study involved procedures such as cross-section by using sliding microtomes on the petiole, lamina, and midrib, epidermal peel, leaf clearing, and observation under a light microscope. The finding in this study showed four types of cystoliths present in all species studied except in Acanthus, Staurogyne, Thunbergia, and Avicennia. Generally, they are present in lamina, petiole, and midrib but differ in shapes and sizes. Four types of cystolith cells are either solitary with round cystoliths, solitary with elongated cystoliths with blunt extremities, solitary with elongated cystoliths with one end pointed, or solitary with a point at both ends. However, this type of cystoliths is varied even within the same species either in petiole, midrib, or lamina. In conclusion, results showed that the occurrence and variation of cystolith cells have a taxonomic significance which can be used in identification and classification either at genus or species level in Acanthaceae.