Comparative Anatomy of Four Species of Piper (Piperaceae)

The genus Piper L. (Piperaceae) comprises about 2000 species [1]. The present work provides a comparative account on the anatomy of four species of Piper namely, P. auritum Kunth, P. betle L., P. nigrum L. and P. sarmentosum Roxb. The anatomy of leaves, petioles and stems of the four species were studied by light, polarization and scanning electron microscopy and photomicrographs were prepared. Several characteristics such as trichomes, presence or absence of calcium oxalate crystals, starch grains and number and arrangement of vascular bundles in petiole were useful in distinguishing the species [2]. Acknowledgements: This research is supported in part by Science Based Authentication of Dietary Supplements funded by the Food and Drug Administration grant No. 1U01FD004246–01; the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Specific Cooperative Agreement No. 58–6408–2-0009; the Global Research Network for Medicinal Plants (GRNMP), King Saud University. References: [1] Mabberley DJ (1997) The plant-book: A portable dictionary of the vascular plants (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [2] Datta PC, Dasgupta A (1977) Acta Biol Acad Sci Hung. 28(1): 97–110.