Micro-morphology of Wild Ovary-Glabrous Tea Germplasms in Fujian

  Objective  Micro-morphology of ovaries from the wild tea germplasms in Yunxiao and Zhao'an was examined to facilitate the identification and resource collection of tea germplasms in Fujian.

  Method  The morphological characteristics of the ovaries from 29 wild tea germplasms were studied under a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM).

  Result  The germplasms collected in Yunxiao and Zhao'an were classified by the morphology of their ovaries into the glabrous and trichome types. Those had a few, scarce or none trichomes on the ovary accounted for 72.4% of all. The trichomes were found mainly on the top of an ovary that determined the overall density and classification of a germplasm. The exine ornamentation on an ovary could be concave, flat or convex in appearance. Those on the ovaries of Yunxiao germplasms were mostly concave, while those of Zhao'an largely flat.

  Conclusion  This study made the first report on the abovementioned observations. The micro-morphology of the ovary-glabrous germplasms displayed distinct difference on the exine ornamentation between the cultivars collected from Yunxiao and Zhao'an.