TY - JOUR AU - Jiang, Zhiguo AU - Xiong, Huanhuan AU - Li, Youzhi AU - Zhao, Chongnan AU - Li, Teng AU - Zhang, Mengdi AU - Zhang, Xia AU - Zhang, Xia AU - Yang, Chaodong AU - Zhou, Cunyu PY - 2022/03/09 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Anatomical and histochemical features of the vegetative organs of Dioscorea polystachya (Dioscoreaceae) JF - Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture JA - Emir J Food Agric VL - 34 IS - 1 SE - Short Communication DO - 10.9755/ejfa.2022.v34.i1.2820 UR - https://ejfa.me/index.php/journal/article/view/2820 SP - AB - <p>We investigated the anatomical and histochemical features of Dioscorea polystachya (Dioscoreaceae), an important food crop in China. <br>The primary structures of D. polystachya include vertical tubers, adventitious roots, twining aerial stems, and leaves with bulblets. The <br>vertical tubers have storage parenchyma with scattered vascular bundles, a cortical meristerm zone, and phellem. The cortical meristerm <br>zone acts as a cambium to thicken the tubers. The twining stems and petioles both have a sclerenchyma layer with vascular bundles, <br>while the blades have palisade tissues and spongy tissues covered by a cuticle. The roots have stele, an endodermis, and an exodermis. <br>The scattered vascular bundles and phellem in the vertical tubers, the sclerenchyma layers and cuticles in the stems and leaves, and the <br>endodermis and exodermis in the roots facilitated the adaptation of D. polystachya to terrestrial environments. The cortical meristerm zone <br>thickens the tubers, which improves cultivation techniques. These structural features help to clarify the complex taxonomy, evolutionary <br>history, and phylogenetic relationships of D. polystachya</p> ER -