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A qualitative micromorphological assessment of the seven species of Isolona occurring in Nigeria and the Cameroons was undertaken with the aid of light microscope. The stomatal cells are particularly useful, providing stable characters which can be reliably employed in distinguishing the species. Hypostomatic leaves and paracytic stomatal type are generic constant. Possession of only paracytic stomata is characteristic of I. dewevrei whereas other species may have in addition another type such as 1+2 laterocytic stomatal type found only in I. zenkeri and presence of brachyparacytic stomata which shows relatedness of I. campanulata, I. congolana, I. hexaloba, I. pleurocarpus and I. thonneri . The epidermal surfaces appeared glabrous but an indication of hairs is shown by the presence of a glandular trichome base only in I. hexaloba. The epidermal cell characters such as epidermal cell shapes and anticlinal wall patterns seem to intergrade and they are not as definite as the stomatal cells. However, a combination of these features will be helpful in defining the species better and their leaf fragments can be differentiated based on the various characters studied for effective utilization in herbal medicinal research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foliar epidermal characters of ten species from the genus Cassia L. Emend. Gaertner, Senna Miller and Chamaecrista Moench found in South Western Nigeria were studied. The aim was to establish some useful diagnostic features that may be employed in combination with other characters as intra or inter-specific or generic tools for their delimitation. Our results revealed exciting features that are helpful in the identification of each species. These include guard cell area, stomatal index and frequency, presence or absence of trichomes, types of trichomes, as well as their length on epidermal surfaces and wall types. These results, therefore suggest diagnostic features that were found on the epidermal surface that can be employed to justify the separation of the new genera Senna and Chamaecrista from their initial genus Cassia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]