Leaf Anatomical Study of Artocarpus J. R. Forst & G. Forst (Moraceae) from Sarawak
| dc.contributor.author | Raihan Rashida Binti Ruslan | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-05-05T01:37:02Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026-05 | |
| dc.description | Genus Artocarpus J. R. Forst & G. Forst is a genus in Moraceae (Mulberry family), native to South, and Southeast Asia and Oceania. Artocarpus species are monoecious, single-trunked trees that grow with evergreen canopy and have white latex in all parts of the plant body. The leaves of Artocarpus species are spirally arranged or distichious, simple or pinnately lobed, fleshy compound. This genus has approximately 70 species and is considered the third largest genus in the family however, the anatomical studies of Artocarpus especially in Sarawak are still understudied. In this study, 21 Artocarpus species were collected from various localities around Sarawak. The anatomical characteristics from the petiole, midrib, and leaf venation will be observed. The leaf was preserved in a mixture of alcohol and acetic acid in a ratio of 3:1 before sectioning using a sliding microtome. Leaf sections were double stained, dehydrated, mounted, and dried. The sections were observed under a compound microscope with an attached video camera and the image was processed using the Cell-D software application and saved as a JPEG file. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the leaf epidermis in more detail. The present study reveals that Artocarpus species had several anatomical differences and similarities. The photomicrograph of the leaf epidermal showed three glabrescent species which are A. annulatus, A. lanceifolius, and A. limpato. The results of this study are consistent with the phylogeny and grouping by previous studies for example, species that have multicellular heads ranging from four to 16 cells belong to the subgenus Artocarpus, while species subgenus Pseudojaca have multicellular heads ranging from one to six celled. Besides that, subgenus Prainea showed one distinct character from the other subgenus which is the presence of knobs in the anticlinal walls pattern. On the other hand, the presence of crystals, trichomes, and presence of sclerenchyma and collenchyma layers between the species also can help in the identification process. In addition, the anatomy of the leaf venation also can aid in differentiating the species for example, A. nitidus and A. dadah were the only species that showed simple veinlets ending. Some common anatomical characteristics of this genus have been observed in this study such as the presence of stomata at the abaxial surface only, the occurrence of staurocytic and anomocytic stomata, the occurrence of the sunken stomata and the conjoint, collateral vascular bundles in all species. A taxonomic key has been constructed based on the anatomical characteristics studied for 21 Artocarpus species. Finally, more samples should be studied to have a complete anatomical characteristic of all Artocarpus species in Sarawak and Borneo eventually. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/51806/ | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://scholarhub.unimas.my/handle/123456789/619 | |
| dc.language.iso | English | |
| dc.publisher | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak | |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | Faculty of Resource Science and Technology | |
| dc.subject | Artocarpus, | |
| dc.title | Leaf Anatomical Study of Artocarpus J. R. Forst & G. Forst (Moraceae) from Sarawak | |
| dc.type | Masters |