The morphometric and numerical analysis of five species of Eragrostis sp. Wolf. based on silica bodies in leaf epidermal cells

Abstract

Many plants take up soluablemonosilicic acid from the soil. Some of these plants subsequently deposit it as cell inclusions of characteristic structure commonly known as silica bodies or phytolith. In the family Poaceae, different types of silica bodies are characteristic feature of the different subfamily. Eragrostis sp., belonging to the subfamily Chloridoideae. These micro-morphological characters of silica bodies of five species of Eragrostissp applied numerically by UPGMA method. Out of five species Eragrostis atrovirens and Eragrostis gangetica are very closely related and their pairing affinity value is 90%.