Leaf epidermal morphology of Zanthoxylum s.l. (Rutaceae) from China

Leaf epidermis characters in 40 of ca. 250 species of Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae) were investigated using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The stomata are anomocytic and exist only on the abaxial epidermis except in Z. nitidum, which also has stomata on the adaxial surface. The epidermal cells are usually polygonal or irregular in shape, with anticlinal walls straight, arched, repand, or sinuous. Under the SEM, the inner margin of the outer stomatal rim is nearly smooth, sinuolate or erose, and the cuticular membrane of the leaf epidermis is smooth, striate, or sometimes striate to wrinkled. These data of leaf epidermis of Zanthoxylum demonstrated that there exist many common characters between subgen. Fagara and subgen. Zanthoxylum, suggesting a close relationship between the two subgenera. The utility of some characters in identifying some species of Zanthoxylum was also discussed.