Micromorphology of Leaves and Pollens of Wild Tea (Camellia sinensis) Germplasms from Shouning, Fujian

  Objective  Foliar and pollen micromorphology of wild tea germplasms from Shouning, Fujian was examined and recorded for references on the natural resource.

  Method  Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to observe the micro-structures of the leaves and pollens of 4 tea germplasms collected from Shouning. Twelve morphological characteristics on the leaves and 10 on the pollens were obtained for analysis.

  Result  The leaf-surface stomates of these plants were oval in shape with glandular scales less densely scattered than the cultivated cultivars. The trichome lengths ranged between(280.75±107.65) μm and (616.95±132.52) μm with significant differences among the germplasms. The surface of trichome was smooth. The adaxial epidermal wax ornamentation was either flat, wrinkled or wavy in appearance. The pollens were all tricolporate of the N3P4C5 type with a size in between (427.69±153.94) μm² and (1205.07±237.80) μm², which was smaller than those of Fudingdabaicha tea. They had two kinds of polar view, suborbicular and trifid subtriangular; their equatorial views differed; their shapes, ellipsoid or subsphaeroidal; and, their ornamentations, verrucate. As compared to Fudingdabaicha, the 4 wild germplasms had certain distinct foliar and pollen micromorphological characteristics, which could serve for the differentiation of the species.