Comparative Anatomical Studies On Three Endemic Ononis L. (Leguminosae) Species Growing In Turkey

Objectives: The leaf and stem anatomical characteristics of three endemic Ononis L. (Leguminosae) species were studied for the first time for the evaluated in terms of systematic of similarities and differences in these taxa.Materials and Methods: Ononis sessilifolia Bornm., Ononis basiadnata Hub.-Mor. and Ononis macrosperma Hub.-Mor. were collected from different provinces of Turkey. In this anatomical study, transversal and superficial sections from the leaves and transversal sections from stems of the species were taken and examined by appropriate reagends. Illustrations were obtained by using an Olympus U-DA 2K 17149 drawing tube attached to an Olympus BX50 microscope. The microphotographs were taken by a Leica DM 4000 B microscope.Results: O. macrosperma is bifacial leaf, the others are monofacial leaf. The leaf of O. basiadnata has eglandular trihomes. If the anatomical similarities between species are to be listed, Rubiaceae type stoma was observed in all three species and solitary crystals were found in stem and leaf sections.Conclusion: Anatomical characteristics, such as mesophyll structure, transmission bundles and crystal structures, may contribute to the taxonomy of Ononis species for future work.