A Comparative Study of Trichomes in Angophora Cav. And Eucalyptus L'hérit. - A Question of Homology

Abstract

The trichomes of Angophora and Eucalyptus are illustrated from scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy, and evolutionary trends are discussed.

Bristle glands of Angophora and Eucalyptus subgen. Blakella and Corymbia are emergent oil glands of varying lengths. Emergent oil glands occur in all other Eucalyptus subgenera but they are most conspicuous in Blakella, Corymbia and Angophora, in which they are characterized by four cap cells each ornamented with micropapillae.

Hairs in Angophora are unique, being multicellular; they are also uniseriate and scattered on the epidermis. In contrast, hairs in Eucalyptus are simple extensions, short or long, of the cells on the sides of or the cap cells of the emergent oil glands, and they are not homologous with those of Angophora. Eucalyptus setosa (subgen. Blakella) and E. brockwayi (subgen. Symphyomyrtus) are two exceptions, having unicellular hairs on the epidermis, not associated with oil glands. It is suggested that this is an ancestral condition (or secondary reversal to it).