Wood anatomy of an Iranian mangrove plant Avicennia marina (Forsk) Vierth

Abstract

The Avicennia tree genus was named in honor of Ibn Sina, a 10th century Persian philosopher and physician known more commonly as Avicenna. In this paper wood anatomical property of Avicennia marina (Acanthaceae) which is one of the most important species of Iranian Mangrove forest has been investigated. Wood samples were taken from trunk of three adult trees, and and micro -sectioned and dyed by Astrablue and Safranin O and finally mounted by Canada balsam. Also Wood chips (match size) were placed in equal parts of glacial acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide and were put in the oven at 60°C for 48 hours, then counted and stained on microscope slides. The presence of concentric included phloem which is surrounded by lignified conjunctive parenchyma (axial parenchyma) and scleroid bands are the most important anatomical characteristics of Avicenna marina. The variability of anatomical characteristics of Avicennia marina in different references can be attributed to grwoing site condition (altitude and latitude).

Keywords

• Avicennia marina (Acanthaceae)
• WOOD ANATOMY
• Mangrove
• Iran