Micromorphology of three species of Portulaca was carried out with the help of light microscopy to determine variations within the species which would aid in correct identification of the plants. Epidermal cells are polygonal with sinuous anticlinal walls in all the three species. Length of epidermal cells of P. grandiflora Hook. is higher than P. oleracea Linn. and P. quadrifida Linn. The leaves of P. quadrifida are epistomatic while the remaining species are amphistomatic with paracytic stomata in all the three species. Mean stomatal index and stomatal frequency are more in P. quadrifida while the mean size of stomata (both length and width) is larger in P. grandiflora for both adaxial and abaxial surfaces. Based on the diagnostic features, an artificial indented key is prepared. 1. Introduction The members of the family Portulacaceae are cosmopolitan generally herbs and shrubs with 15–30 genera and 500 species [1]. According to Geesink [2], Portulaca Linn is divided into two subgenera: subgenera Portulacella (F. Muell.) Legrand with glabrous nodes and flowers in dichasia and subgenera Portulaca with nodal scales or hairs and terminal flowers. The presently studied species belong to subgenera Portulaca. All the three species are recorded from the west of North America, South America, and Africa with some representatives in Europe and Asia [3]. The plants are native to the tropics of the western hemisphere [4]. The species selected for the present study are P. grandiflora, P. oleracea, and P. quadrifida which are suggested in medicine. P. grandiflora is a succulent, prostrate, ascending, pretty herb with subblooming flowers [5], used for the relief of sore throat, skin rashes, and detoxification [6]. P. quadrifida is small succulent with elliptic to ovate leaves. Flowers are yellow, solitary, terminal with conical capsule and minutely tubercle seeds [5]. It is used for various curative purposes such as asthma, cough, urinary discharge, inflammation, ulcers, abdominal complaints, erysipelas, and hemorrhoids [7, 8]. P. oleracea is a succulent, erect herb with oblong ovate or spathulate leaves and cuneate or sessile base. Flowers are yellow with terminal or axillary clusters. Capsule is ovoid with black muriculate seeds. It is antibacterial, -virus, -antherosis, -caducity and enhances immunity. It is also useful in headache, stomachache, painful urination, dysentery, enteritis, astitis, lack of milk flow in nursing mothers, and in postpartum bleeding, inflammation, skin sores, and ulcers. Fresh herb is used as poultice or juice [9, 10] and in unani
References
[1]
J. M. Neill, “Synopsis of a revised classification of the Portulacaceae,” Taxon, vol. 23, no. 5-6, pp. 725–728, 1974.
[2]
R. Geesink, “An account of the genus Portulaca in Indo-Australia and the pacific (Portulacaceae),” Blumea, vol. 17, pp. 275–301, 1969.
[3]
M. G. Gilbert and S. M. Phillips, “A review of the opposite-leaved species of Portulaca in Africa and Arabia,” Kew Bulletin, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 769–802, 2000.
[4]
E. L. D. Seymour, Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Horticulture, vol. 2, Discovery, New Delhi, India, 1997.
[5]
Wealth of India: A Dictionary of Indian Raw Materials and Industrial Products. Raw Materials, vol. 8, National Institute of Science Communications CSIR, 1998.
[6]
P. Chavalittumrong, B. Sriwanthana, A. Rojanawiwat et al., “Safety of the aqueous extract of Portulaca grandiflora Hook in healthy volunteers Songklanakarin,” Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 29, supplement I, pp. 95–100, 2007.
[7]
S. K. Mulla and P. Swamy, “Preliminary pharmacognostical and phytochemical evaluation of Portulaca quadrifida Linn,” International Journal of PharmTech Research, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 1699–1702, 2010.
[8]
K. R. Kirtikar and B. D. Basu, Indian Medicinal Plants, vol. 2, Dehra Dun, Uttaranchal, India, 2001.
[9]
S. Foster and R. Caras, A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants of North America (North of Mexico), Houghton Mifflin, Boston, Mass, USA, 1994.
[10]
M. Grieve, Modern Herbal: The Medicinal Culinary Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folklore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs and Trees with all Their Modern Scientific Uses, Dorset Press, New York, NY, USA, 1992.
[11]
D. Ahmed, M. Sharma, A. Mukerjee, P. W. Ramteke, and V. Kumar, “Improved glycemic control, pancreas protective and hepatoprotective effect by traditional poly-herbal formulation, “Qurs Tabasheer” in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats,” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 13, article 10, 2013.
[12]
N. M. S. Hassan, U. Meve, and S. Liede-Schumann, “Seed coat morphology of Aizoaceae-Sesuvioideae, Gisekiaceae and Molluginaceae and its systematic significance,” Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. 148, no. 2, pp. 189–206, 2005.
[13]
V. V. Sivarajan and M. C. Gopinathan, “Seed coat micromorphology of Caryophyllales: observations on some Molluginaceae,” Proceedings: Plant Sciences, vol. 94, no. 1, pp. 51–57, 1985.
[14]
G. Mostafavi, M. Assadi, T. Nejadsattari, F. Sharifnia, and I. Mehregan, “Seed micromorphological survey of the Minuartia species (Caryophyllaceae) in Iran,” Turkish Journal of Botany, vol. 37, pp. 446–454, 2013.
[15]
I. Dinter and K. Haas, “Epicuticular wax and anatomical features of Arthraerua leubnitziae (Kuntze) Schinz (Amaranthaceae) related to the ecological conditions in the Namib Desert,” Dinteria, no. 30, pp. 1–8, 2008.
[16]
S. M. Fank-de-Carvalho, M. R. D. A. Gomes, P. í. T. Silva, and S. N. Báo, “Leaf surfaces of Gomphrena spp. (Amaranthaceae) from Cerrado biome,” Biocell, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 23–35, 2010.
[17]
T. Engel and W. Barthlott, “Micromorphology of epicuticular waxes in Centrosperms,” Plant Systematics and Evolution, vol. 161, no. 1-2, pp. 71–85, 1988.
[18]
E. Ata？lar, “Morphological and anatomical investigations on the Saponaria kotschyi Boiss. (Caryophyllaceae),” Turkish Journal of Botany, vol. 28, no. 1-2, pp. 193–199, 2004.
[19]
S. M. Fank-de-Carvalho and S. N. Bao, “Leaf micromorphology of Gomphrena spp. (Amaranthaceae),” Acta Microscopia, vol. 16, no. 1-2, pp. 238–239, 2007.
[20]
T. Agarwal and A. S. Yadav, “Micromorpholgy of the leaf epidermis of Achyranthes aspera L,” Journal of Phytological Research, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 61–66, 2007.
[21]
V. H. Heywood, Ed., Flowering Plants of the World, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 1978.
[22]
A. B. Kadiri, “Comparative foliar micro-morphological characters of the species of Portulacaceae in Nigeria,” Bulletin of Pure & Applied Sciences-Botany, vol. 25, article 166, 2006.
[23]
C. R. Metcalfe and L. Chalk, Anatomy of the Dicotyledons, Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK, 1950.
[24]
M. A. Hershkovitz, “Leaf morphology of Calandrinia and Montiopsis (Portulacaceae),” Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, vol. 80, no. 2, pp. 366–396, 1993.
[25]
A. Baruah and S. C. Nath, “Foliar epidermal characters in twelve species of Cinnamomum schaeffer (Lauraceae) from Northeastern India,” Phytomorphology, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 127–134, 1997.
[26]
M. A. Hershkovitz, “Leaf morphology of Cistanthe spach (Portulacaceae),” Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, vol. 78, pp. 1022–1060, 1991.
[27]
J. Swarna and R. Ravindhran, “Pharmacognostical and phytochemical evaluation of Talinum triangulare (Jacq.) Willd,” International Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, vol. 5, supplement 2, pp. 249–256, 2013.
[28]
T. Rajagopal, “Distributional pattern and taxonomic importance of foliar stomata,” International Journal of Botany, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 63–69, 1979.
[29]
E. J. Salisbury, “On the causes and ecological significance of stomatal frequency with special reference to woodland flora,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol. 216, pp. 1–65, 1927.
[30]
J. E. Weaver and F. E. Clements, Plant Ecology, McGraw–Hill, New York, NY, USA, 1936.
[31]
S. R. S. Rao and N. Ramayya, “Distribution of stomata and its relation to plant habit in the order Malvales,” Indian Journal of Botany, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 149–156, 1981.
