MORPHOLOGICAL AND ANATOMICAL STUDIES ON SOME DESERT PLANTS IN BELBAIS REGION, EGYPT.

Abstract

The present study was carried out in Faculty of Agirculture, Ain Shams University. This work aimed to study the morphology and anatomy of two desert plants obtained from Belbais region. For this objective, a survey of the naturally growing plants was made. The survey accounted about 59 species belonging to 50 genera and 20 families. Two medicinal, widely distributed species were chosen, namely, Haloxy/on salicornicum (Chenopodiaceae) and Pituranthos tortuosus (Umbelliferae). These two species were subjected to detailed morphological and anatomical studies. The results obtained from these studies were as follows:

1. Morphological study Ha/oxy/on sa/icornicum It is a perennial, desert, rigid, articulated short shrub with glabrous branches reaches 25 - 75 em in height. The young uppermost branches are fleshy, green while the trunk and the lower branches are woody. Each node bears two opposite decussate scale leaves adnate at their bases to form a sheath around the base of the internode. The plant has a poorly branched woody tap root. The flowers oppositely arise in terminal spikes with green jointed rachis. The flower is nearly sessile or carried on a very short pedicel in the axis of a green bract. The pedicel, if present, bears two green bracteoles. The flower is actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, hypogynous and monochlamydeous with five perianth segments, five stamens and gynoecium of a superior ovary, a style and two stigmata.

Pituranthos tortuosus It is a perennial, glabrous small shrub of leafless appearance with dense blue green slender branches about 50- 100 em in height.