TITLE:
Preliminary Study on Taxonomic Review Using Histological Sections of Some Iberian Species from the Genus Quercus L. (Fagaceae)
AUTHORS:
Sara del Río, Rafael Álvarez, Adoración Candelas, Silvia González-Sierra, Luis Herrero, Angel Penas
KEYWORDS:
Histology, Iberian Peninsula, Optical Microscopy, Quercus, SEM
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.5 No.18,
August
27,
2014
ABSTRACT: The taxonomy of the genus Quercus is the subject of ongoing
scientific interest at the present time. Classically the scanning electron
microscope is and has been used for the study of leaf surfaces, particularly to
characterise the trichomes, stomata and epicuticular waxes. In the present
work, in addition to using the SEM, histological sections from a group of taxa
from the northern Iberian Peninsula are studied under the optical microscope.
Specifically, the study concerns the leaves of Quercus robur subsp. robur, Q. orocantabrica, Q. petraea and Q. pyrenaica, and of possible
hybrids between Q. orocantabrica and Q. petraea and between Q.
orocantabrica and Q. pyrenaica. The results highlight histological
differences between Q. robur and Q. orocantabrica, and also differentiate the morphological
characteristics of Q. petraea and Q. pyrenaica. Similarities can
also be observed between Q. petraea and its possible hybrid with Q.
orocantabrica, and between Q. pyrenaica and its hybrid with Q. orocantabrica.
The aspects observed under the optical microscope complement the observations
obtained by means of the scanning electron microscope, and as a consequence
of this, two new nothospecies are described: Q. xpuentei (Q. orocantabrica × Q. petraea) and Q. xpenasii (Q. orocantabrica × Q. pyrenaica).