Leaf Anatomical and Morphological Characteristics of some Species of Quercus, Fagus, and Castanea (Fagaceae) from some Habitats in Iran

The Fagaceae family is comprised of 8 genera with over 1000 different species. Despite many advances in understanding phylogenetic relationships based on molecular data, the existence of hybrids and/or the presence of ambiguous sequences justify careful observation of morphological, anatomical, and ecological characters of the Fagaceae. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the morphological and anatomical characteristics the leaf of existing taxa in different habitats in Iran to identify and establish their similarities and dissimilarities relationships between them. Thus, 52 quantitative and qualitative characters from the leaf were studied. Cluster Analysis and Principal Components Analysis (PCA) were done based on Euclidean distance and covariance characteristics, respectively. The results obtained from PCA were consistent with cluster analysis. The results showed that the presence or absence of grooves in the petiole, petiole length, leaf width, leaf outline, the presence of trichomes between the midrib and secondary veins behind the leaf, the presence of cilia on the leaf margins were important morphological traits in the Fagaceae family. Some leaf anatomical characters such as venation density, midrib thickness, the presence or absence of trichomes, different shapes and sizes of trichomes, trichomes density, thickness and variety of epicuticular waxes and their shapes, stomatal size and density would be taxonomically useful for species.