Leaf architecture and epidermal characters in Zelkova, Ulmaceae

Zelkova , with six extant species in Eurasia - three in East Asia (Z. schneideriana, Z. serrata, Z. sinica) , one in south-western Asia (Z. carpinifolia) and two in southern Europe (Z. abelicea, Z. sicula) - was investigated with respect to leaf architecture and epidermal characters by LM and SEM. The leaf venation of Zelkova is relatively uniform, while leaf size and shape are highly variable. Characters such as teeth and epidermal cells, trichomes and stomata provide useful specific distinctions. Beginning in the Miocene, increasing aridity in Central Asia would appear to have been responsible for isolating the eastern Asiatic species from their European/western Asiatic counterparts. The European range underwent further changes in response to Quaternary climatic oscillations.