Summary
Plants of the Indian desert belonging to 29 families, 85 genera and 105 species of angiosperms were screened for the possible occurrence of the C4-pathway of photosynthetic CO2-fixation. The criteria used for screening were leaf anatomy and/or δ13C values. The results indicated the occurrence of the C4-pathway in members of 3 new families (Acanthaceae, Cleomaceae, Scrophulariaceae), 10 new genera (Aerva, Anticharis, Blepharis, Elyonurus, Glossocardia 1, Gynandropsis, Melanocenchris, Sehima, Sesuvium, Zalaeya) and 34 new species of the angiosperms. All the grasses investigated were found to possess the C4-pathway. Cuscuta hyalina, a phloem-parasite, growing on C4 hosts (Tribulus, Zalaeya) also revealed δ13C value very close to that found in the host plants.
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Sankhla, N., Ziegler, H., Vyas, O.P. et al. Eco-physiological studies on Indian arid zone plants. Oecologia 21, 123–129 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00345555
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00345555