Morphological and anatomical studies of the leaf and stem of Lippia nodiflora (L.) Michx. and Lippia alba (Mill.) N. E. Br. ex Britton & P.Wilson

Sneha  Sahay^a* and Jyoti Kumar^a
University  Department of Botany, Ranchi University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

Received : 25th july , 2015; Revised : 29th August, 20 15

Abstract : A comparative study of the morphological and anatomical features of the leaves and stems of Lippia nodiflora (L.) Michx. and Lippia alba (Mill.) N. E. Br. ex Britton & P.Wilson was undertaken, both species have been widely reported in several medicines. The presence of quadrangular stem in the latter distinguishes it morphologically from the former, which is characterized by smooth circular stein and glabrous leaves. The study reports variation in the structure and distribution of stomata in Lippia nodiflora (L.) Michx. and Lippia alba (Mill.) N. E. Br. ex Britton & P.Wilson. The type of stomata, stomatal index, size of stomata (average length and width), T.S of stem and T.S. of leaf were examined. Differences in epidermal structure and stomata arrangements were also prominent features for separating between these species.