Saturday, October 13, 2012: 2:40 AM
Hall 4E/F (WSCC)
Trichomes are hair like appendages that grow on the epidermis of leaves that serve to prevent desiccation, water conservation, and protection from insects. The genus Tillandsia is found within the pineapple plant family Bromeliaceae and consists of primarily epiphytic plants found primarily in subtropical and tropical Americas. Trichomes in Tillandsia specifically serve to help the plants gain nutrition, prevent water loss and help with the uptake of water. And are thought to be a key innovation in the radiation of the genus. We hypothesized that there would be a correlation between where the species was located, and its trichome characteristics. To do this we examined over 40 different leaf samples using the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM), measuring trichome features such as wing area, ring cells, angle of trichome wings, and abundance of trichomes on both abaxial and ad axial sides of the leaf. The results yielded a minimum wing area seen in T. rhomboidea at 71.69um and a maximum area seen in T. ionatha at 1168.36um. Furthemroe elevation was examined which yielded angles higher in wings with smaller areas and angles lower or flat in plants with high areas for wings. Ring cells were also calculated yielding a minim of 8 and a maximum of 16 cells. Preliminary results show that there are morphological differences between trichomes on Tillandsia in different climates.Thus, preliminary studies provide useful information on trichome shape and abundance and its correlation with ecological characteristics of the species.