中国科学院南京地质古生物研究所机构知识库

Leaf cuticle micromorphology of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & W. C. Cheng was studied with SEM using samples collected from its natural population in south-central China and cultivated trees in Nanjing City. The cuticle characters from both natural and cultivated trees living in different environments allowed us to re-evaluate taxonomic values of certain cuticular characters and to assess their relationships with environmental factors and the degree of tree maturity. External and internal cuticular features of both adaxial (upper) and abaxial (lower) leaf surfaces revealed the following: (1) Cuticle micromorphology of M. glyptostroboides is distinct among Taxodiaceae, but that variation does not exceed the range of this family. (2) Except for an isolated tree outside the Metasequoia valley, the cuticular features displayed by individual trees from the main Metasequoia groves demonstrate a high degree of uniformity, which is in congruence with previous observations on the low population variability at the gross morphology level. (3) Cuticular characters of grafted Metasequoia trees living in different environments are identical to those of their original trees, indicating that no cuticular character of this species could be regarded as an environmental indicator. (4) Recognition of some unique cuticular features in a Metasequoia tree in an isolated location may lead to a rare source for increasing the variation of this endangered species. (C) 2001 The Linnean Society of London.