Ruqayah Manoon Hasan Alnomani

The aim of the study was to investigate the detail epidermal characteristics of the leaf for six species of the genus Lepidium in Iraq. The species investigated include L. aucheri, L. latifoliaum, L. perfoliatum, L. persicum, L. ruderale and L. sativum. The qualitative parameters, such as straight or sinuous, thin or thick anticlinal cell walls, types of stomata apparatus and trichomes types were studied by using light microscopy (LM). Also quantitative traits such as stomtal index, length, width, epidermal length and width was described in details. The results show high covariance in the leaf attributes which can be of great taxonomic significance.

Pollen morphology of 7 species belonging to 5 genera of the tribes Euclideae, Hesperideae, Mathioleae, Arabideae and Lepidieae from Brassicaceae family were investigated using light and scanning electron microscope. The study showed that the pollen grains are a stenopalynous have tricolporate to tetracolporate in Anchonium elichrysifolium. The ornamentation is reticulate and the shape is spheroidal in equatorial view and oblate to spheroidal in polar view. The study reported also little differences in quantitative characters between all species studied.

In this study leaf anatomical characters among the species of the genus Hordeum L. have been evaluated. In Iraq, Hordeum is represented by eight species, namely Hordeum bulbosum L., H.distichon L., H.geniculatum All., H.glaucum Steud., H.leporinum Link, H.marinum var. marinum Huds., H.marinum var. pubescens (Guss.) Nevski, H. spontaneum var. spontaneum C. Koch, H.spontaneum var. proskowetzii Nab., and H. vulgare L. This genus one of the most economically important cereal crops in the tribe Triticeae, has a worldwide distribution mainly in temperate and dry regions of the world. The main objective of this study is to asses the significance of anatomical characteristics of the leaves. For this purpose transverse sections and leaf surfaces were examined. Anatomic features show that leaf blades vary between the taxa in both qualitative and quantitative values. Sclerenchymatic cells, silica bodies, and stomata, furrow and ribs properties, the existence of midrib and bulliform cells, and indumentum properties such as length of prickles and macro-hairs are all included in these diagnostic characteristics .

This study examines the taxonomic significance of sheath properties for the species of Agropyron Gaertn., comprising diagnostic anatomical features obtained from sheath surface micro morphology, the observations show that most of the characters, such as length of long cells, thickness and undulating of walls, the size, number and shape of stomatal complex, types and shapes of short cells, the presence and absence of prickle hairs and angular prickles are different in the studied species of Agropyron .

In this paper leaf transverse sections for nine species of Aegilops in Iraq from 57 accessions have been anatomically examined. Different characters (variable and constant) have taxonomical value and can be used for distinguishing between species such as shape of the keel, shape of abaxial and adaxial sclerenchyma, shape of marginal sclerenchyma and bulliform cells arrangment. Finally, the study show that anatomical characteristic of the leaf blade vary between studied taxa .

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