Anatomical study of some characters in certain species of genus Ficus L. growing in Iraq

Abstract

The high morphological diversity among species of the genus Ficus causes problems in the delimitation of the species. Therefore, there is a difficulty in offering a natural and well organized classification for the species of the genus.

This research was based on the leaf characters of 3 species from Ficus growing in Iraq which is (F. carica, F. elasticaa and F. religiosa). All species of Ficus have crystals appeared very clear in the epidermis also recorded the stomatal type and found all the species under study have Actinocytic type and characterized by Hypostomatic (stomata on abaxial only). The shape of the guard cell are reniform in all species under study, and the ordinary cells straight walls and ribbed also the cell shapes are rectangular to polygonal as well as the study showed that the unglandular trichomes are normally founded on the Ficus carica and Ficus religiosa and the species Ficus elasticaa was glabrous.

The vertical sections of leaves showing difference characteristics in epidermis and mesophyll in the species under study, the epidermis differ between the species and on this basis can be divided into three groups, the epidermis in all species is composed of oval cells with undulating walls, also the type of mesophyll in the species F. elasticaa and F. carica are Bifacil and isobilateral mesophyll in the species F. religiosa. The spongy layer were consisted from (3-5) rows of ordinary parenchyma cells in all species except the species F. elasticaa the spongy layer form was consisted from Aerenchyma cells. The shape of midrib cross section in the species under study were different between them, where the cross sectional shape of the species F. carica was quadrilateral shaped and the vascular bundle was crescent shaped also the shape of cross section in the F. elasticaa and F. religiosa were look like elongated jar or eye drawn and the vascular bundle were taken the same shape, likewise the vascular bundle were consisted from xylem and phloem and of several layers of sclerenchyma  around the vascular bundles.

Key words: Ficus , Iraq, leaf anatomy, Moraceae.