부산대학교 도서관

Some studies have reported the presence of leaf cork-warts in several families of plants; however, in Lauraceae, these structures have not been confirmed. Therefore, based on studies of leaf anatomy, we have herein documented the presence of leaf cork-warts in Mezilaurus species of Lauraceae. To accomplish this, we investigated fifteen species from all six genera of the Mezilaurus group, including Anaueria, Chlorocardium, Clinostemon, Mezilaurus, Sextonia, and Williamodendron. Analyses of leaf anatomy were performed through optical and scanning electron microscopy. Our results revealed cork-warts in six species of the genus Mezilaurus: M. crassiramea, M. navalium, M. revolutifolia, M. subcordata, M. synandra, and M. vanderwerffii. In the investigated species M. crassiramea and M. navalium, cork-warts originated from the stomatal complex, from epidermal cells covering oil cells located in mesophyll, and from epidermal cells around trichomes. Therefore, cork-warts could be considered an additional taxonomic character to delimit Mezilaurus species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]