科研之友
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摘要
Capparis spinosa is a plant that grows in dry and arid environments. As far as can be ascertained, no comprehensive studies on how the leaf, stem and root structures adapt to drought conditions have been published to date. In this paper, a study into the anatomical adaptations of the leaf, stem and root of C. spinosa to drought environments was conducted using in vitro cultured seedlings as control. The results showed that C. spinosa could change its leaf, stem, and root structures when adapting to drought conditions. The plant growing under drought conditions possessed an enlarged transit region between the stem and root where the xylem and fibro-vascular system had increased in order to enhance water absorption and storage capacity. The leaf, stem and root of C. spinosa under drought conditions were better developed than those under normal in vitro culture conditions. The leaf possessed uniform mesophyll cells and three or four layers of palisade mesophyll cells on both sides of the mature leaves. The stomata were evenly distributed across both sides of the leaf, and they remained open continually during the day throughout the summer growing period, especially those on the lower leaf surface. The xylem in the stem was extremely well developed with wide vessels and much thicker cortical layers. All these characteristics can enhance the adaptability of C. spinosa and enable it to survive in extremely dry and arid areas.
