Vol. 8, Issue 6 (2019)

Author(s):
Fouzia Hilal and Soumya Hilal

Abstract:
Mangroves consists of a wide variety of tropical trees or woody shrubs like plants growing at the interface between sea and land (inter-tidal)zone and form a highly productive and ecologically important ecosystem. Aim of the current work is to study various morphological and anatomical adaptations exhibited by two mangroves such as Bruguiera cylindrica and Rhizophora mucronata collected from Mundrothuruth of Kollam district. The study revealed that the plants growing in salt marshes of Mundrothuruth developed a number of adaptations to survive in the physiologically dry habitat. Major structural adaptations observed among these plants include pneumatophores, stilt roots, knee roots, thick leaves, persistent calyx and vivipary. The anatomy of leaves showed xerophytic characteristics such as presence of highly cuticularized epidermis, sunken stomata, mucilaginous cells and collenchymatous hypodermis. Anatomical studies on stem shows the presence of lignified cells in cortex and pith, deposition of tannins and oils, water storing cells that are highly adapted from desiccation of tissues due to insolation. From the study it was clear that the morphological and anatomical adaptations to local conditions may allow the trees to maximize its photosynthetic efficiency.