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Distribution, morphological and histochemical characteristics of foliar trichomes of Plectranthus zuluensis (Lamiaceae)

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An Erratum to this article was published on 28 August 2015

Abstract

There are problems in the delimitation/identification of Plectranthus species and this investigation aims to contribute toward solving such problems through structural and histochemical study of the trichomes. Considering the importance of P. zuluensis as restricted to semi-coastal forests of Natal that possess only two fertile stamens not four as the other species of this genus. The objective of this work was to study in detail the distribution, morphology and histochemistry of the foliar trichomes of this species using light and electron microscopy. Distribution and morphology of two types of non-glandular, capitate and peltate glandular trichomes are described on both leaf sides. This study provides a description of the different secretion modes of glandular trichomes. Results of histochemical tests showed a positive reaction to terpenoids, lipids, polysaccharides and phenolics in the glandular trichomes. We demonstrated that the presence, types and structure of glandular and non-glandular trichomes are important systematic criteria for the species delimitation in the genus.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Research Foundation, South Africa and Professor Gonasageran Naidoo, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, P/Bag X54001, Durban, 4000, South Africa

    Benita Kalicharan, Yougasphree Naidoo & Arvind Bhatt

  2. Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez University, Suez, Egypt

    Samia Heneidak

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  1. Benita Kalicharan
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  2. Yougasphree Naidoo
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  3. Samia Heneidak
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  4. Arvind Bhatt
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Correspondence to Yougasphree Naidoo or Samia Heneidak.

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Kalicharan, B., Naidoo, Y., Heneidak, S. et al. Distribution, morphological and histochemical characteristics of foliar trichomes of Plectranthus zuluensis (Lamiaceae). Braz. J. Bot 38, 961–971 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-015-0194-2

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