Abstracto

Anatomy and Conspectus of the Genus simmondsia (Link.)

Thakur HA and Patil DA

Simmondsia is a much debated genus of the euphorbiaceous plexus. Simmondsia chinensis has been investigated anatomically. The various aspects such as stomatal and trichome morphology besides leaf, petiole, nodal and stem anatomy have been studied critically and comparatively. The paper reviewed endomorphic features revealed to date as well as exomorphic features emphasized by the various systematists. The genus is critically assessed taxonomically and phyllogenetically. The authors are inclined to treat it as an independent family as its own-the Simmondsiaceae in between and in close association with the families Euphorbiaceae and Buxaceae.