Bulletin of Botanical Research ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (5): 675-685.doi: 10.7525/j.issn.1673-5102.2025.05.003

• Original Paper • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Distinct Water Supply and Consumption Characteristics in Leaves between Nymphaeaceae and Terrestrial Herbs

Xinyi HU1, Liming XU2(), Botao QIN1, Yidong AN1, Guofeng JIANG1()   

  1. 1.Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation,Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory for Cultivation and Utilization of Subtropical Forest Plantation,College of Forestry,Guangxi University,Nanning 530004
    2.Industrial Technology Engineering Center for Zhuang & Yao Medicinal Organisms,Botanical Garden of Zhuang & Yao Medicinal Plants,Collaborative Innovation Center of Great Health,College of Medicine and Health Care,Guangxi Vocational & Technical Institute of Industry,Nanning 530001
  • Received:2025-03-06 Online:2025-09-20 Published:2025-09-28
  • Contact: Liming XU, Guofeng JIANG E-mail:dawn111305@163.com;gfjiang@gxu.edu.cn

Abstract:

In terrestrial angiosperms, the balance between water supply and consumption is primarily regulated through the coordination of leaf veins and stomata, with epidermal cells playing a significant role in this process. However, research on Nymphaeaceae species remains very limited. In this study, seven species of Nymphaeaceae and six species of terrestrial herbaceous plants were selected as materials. Through quantitative analysis of floral and leaf anatomical traits, the intraspecific variation within Nymphaeaceae and the differences in floral and leaf characteristics between the two plant groups were examined. The results indicated that flowers of Nymphaeaceae plants exhibited larger stomatal size, epidermal cells size, and a higher vein density than leaves, whereas leaves displayed greater stomatal density, epidermal cell density, and stomatal index. The anatomical traits of Nymphaeaceae flowers were similar to those of terrestrial herbaceous flowers, except for epidermal cell size. However, the epidermal cell density and stomatal density of leaves were significantly higher than those of terrestrial herbs, while stomatal size, epidermal cell size, vein density and stomatal index were notably lower than those of the terrestrial herbs. The stomatal density of Nymphaeaceae flowers had no correlation with either epidermal cell size or floral vein density; in leaves, epidermal cell size had a negative correlation with stomatal density, and no significant association was found between stomatal density and leaf vein density. Principal component analysis revealed that, compared to terrestrial herbaceous plants, Nymphaeaceae flowers had an advantage in epidermal cell density; meanwhile, leaf trait spaces were completely separated, with Nymphaeaceae leaves exhibiting higher epidermal cell density and stomatal density. In conclusion, the flowers of Nymphaeaceae exhibited the traits similar with terrestrial herbs, likely due to their water-retaining characteristics, while the decoupling of stomata and veins in leaves reflected adaptive evolution in the aquatic environment. These findings provided the valuable foundation for further research on water-use characteristics and environmental adaptation mechanisms in aquatic plants.

Key words: Nymphaeaceae, terrestrial herbs, water relations, stomata, epidermal cell, veins

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