Life Sciences Commons^™

Diversity In Leaf Anatomy, And Stomatal Distribution And Conductance, Between Salt Marsh And Freshwater Species In The C4 Genus Spartina (Poaceae), Brian R. Maricle Ph.D., Nuria K. Koteyeva, Elena V. Voznesenskaya, Joseph R. Thomasson, Gerald E. Edwards

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Leaf anatomy, stomatal density, and leaf conductance were studied in 10 species of Spartina (Poaceae) from low versus high salt marsh, and freshwater habitats. • Internal structure, external morphology, cuticle structure, and stomatal densities were studied with light and electron microscopy. Functional significance of leaf structure was examined by measures of CO2 uptake and stomatal distributions. • All species have Kranz anatomy and C 4 δ13C values. Freshwater species have thin leaves with small ridges on adaxial sides and stomata on both adaxial and abaxial sides. By contrast, salt marsh species have thick leaves with very pronounced ridges on the …