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Anatomy and
morphology of Nicotiana glauca with regard to its
crystals characterization
Zoleka Mhinana, Buyisile Mayekiso and
Michael L. Magwa
Botany Department and Electron Microscopic Unit, University
of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice, Eastern Cape, South
Africa.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
bmayekiso@ufh.ac.za.
Accepted 1 March, 2010 |
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Nicotiana glauca
belongs to the Solanacese family of which Nicotiana
tabacum and Nicotiana rustica are best known for
their use as tobacco. N. glauca attains the greatest
abundance and diversity in Central Argentina where it is
considered native, and has been known as a weed in South
Africa since the 19th Century. Extensive work on toxic
effect of secondary metabolites extracted from this plant
was conducted but their sources of origin and structure were
not known. The leaves of N. glauca were characterized
by the presence of solitary crystals and crystal-sand which
originated from the cytosol and vacuoles. The presence of
the compact tissues, isobilateral leaf with thick-cuticular
epidermis and abundant crystals was assumed to be of
ecological importance as this species appeared to be adapted
to the xeromorphic habitats.
Key words:
Anatomy, morphology, crystals in Nicotiana glauca. |
