Comparative studies of vegetative anatomy in the Theaeeae of Sri Lanka

Anatomical characters of the mature leaf blade, petiole, young stem and wood were examined in order to substantiate taxonomic boundaries between genera and species of Theaeeae in Sri Lanka. Two species of Temstroemia , one of Adinandra , four of Eurya and two of Gordonia were studied.
The presence of sclereids in most organs of the plant was found to be a common character within the family. However, three distinct types of sclereid are reported. Two basic types of stomata, anomocytic and gordoniaceous, are recognized. The origin of phellogen in the young stems is pericyclic in Gordonia and subepidermal in the other three genera. The species within these genera also appear to have several distinctive characters of their own. Important wood characters have been tabulated in order to illustrate the primitive and advanced characters. Gordonia , especially, exhibits anatomical features which are quite different from those of Temstroemia, Adinandra send Eurya.