Comparative Analyses of Stomatal Size and Density among Ecotypes of Aster hispidus (Asteraceae)

Abstract

To determine the size and the density of stomata among different environments, we conducted anatomical analyses us-ing Aster hispidus var. hispidus (open field), As. hispidus var. leptocladus (serpentine soil), and As. hispidus var. insu-laris (coastal). The stomatal size was not significantly different among these ecotypes but the density of stomata in the serpentine and coastal ecotypes was significantly lower than that of As. hispidus var. hispidus, which suggests that these ecotypes have experienced selection that reduced the density of stomata for adaptation to the dry conditions of serpen-tine and coastal areas.