The morphology of hairs in taxa of the genus Plantago L. Sections: Polyneuron Decne and Lamprosantha Decne

Abstract

The hairs of above-ground parts (leaf, scape, bract, calyx) of 10 taxa from the section Polyneuron Decne and three from section Lamprosantha Decne are very similar. The presence of one type of headed hairs and three types of headless hairs was found in all of the studied taxa. The headed hairs are built analogically. The headless hairs in the taxa of section Polyneuron are composed of 3-4 cells, while in the taxa of sectio Lamprosantha, of 6-7 cells. P. japonica Franchet et Savat. f. polystachya Makino distinguishes itself among all the studied taxa because of the presence of a small basal cell in the headless hairs made up of several cells.

Keywords

• genus Plantago L.
• section Polyneuron Decne
• section Lamprosantha Decne
• hairs
• scanning electron microscopy