ANATOMICAL STUDIES OF CATHAYA (PINACEAE)

Cathaya Chun et Kuang is a monotypic genus and one of the gymnosperms endemic to China. We investigated Cathaya argyrophylla with both light and scanning electron microscopy to study the external and internal surfaces of leaf cuticle, leaf blade, petiole, shoot apex, young stem, bark, wood, young and old roots, and mycorrhizae. It is shown that Cathaya has unique characteristics as well as common features of the Pinaceae, there being a difference between Cathaya and Pinus and the rest of the family. So far as the vegetative organs are concerned, the genus is most closely related to Pseudotsuga and Larix. Data derived from the study of structures of vegetative organs of Cathaya are very different from those of reproductive organs, indicating the complexity of the problem of systematics and evolution in these plants. However, the present study supports the view that Cathaya should not be included in the genus Pseudotsuga as a new species.