Micromorphometric analysis of five Begonia spp. leaves (Begoniaceae)

Abstract

Begonia is one of the largest plant genera that widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics. This genus has important value and has been cultivated intensively as ornamental plants. Hence, this purpose of this research is to investigate the leaf anatomical characteristic of five Begonia species; B. maculata, B. cucullata, B. masoniana, B. acetosa and B. listada; which are important in horticulture. The mini-microtome with a liquid preservation method has been used to obtain the transverse section. The result showed that the epidermis, hypodermis, and trichome characters are varied, and each species could have a different character's combination. The qualitative and quantitative parameters of five Begonia were also described and compared in this study.