AGROBIOLOGIA
Volume 12, Numéro 1, Pages 2915-2931
2022-05-09

Ziziphus Lotus (l.) Morphological Description From Wild Populations In Algeria

Authors : Houma Imen .

Abstract

Description of the subject: Wild jujube (Ziziphus lotus L.,) is a xerophytic shrub belonging to the Rhamnaceae family widely distributed in arid and semiarid regions in Algeria. Objective: The present study aimed to analyze the leaves macro and micro morphological variability within and among wild populations sampled from seven different bioclimatic sites and to evaluate the effect of environmental conditions on leaves and stomata morphology. Method: 16 quantitative and qualitative morphological and micro morphological characters for leaves and stomata were analysed, the leaf epidermis was observed under the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results: The results revealed highly significant differences for all quantitative and qualitative both within and among populations. HAC with Ward's linkage, classified the seven populations in two clusters for leaves traits and three clusters for stomata traits. The environmental conditions did not seem to have effect on leaf traits but stoma characteristics were clearly marked by bioclimatic variation. Conclusion: This study is the first to investigate morphological characters of leaves and stomata of wild jujube in Algeria. Our results provide new information that can help to better understand the eco-physiological responses of that plant species to different abiotic pressures.

Keywords

ziziphus lotus ; leaves ; stomata ; morphological variability ; populations ; Algeria