Anatomical characteristics of the Turkish members of the genus caropodium (apiaceae)

The genus Caropodium is represented by 5 taxa in Turkey and from all over the world. Endemism ratio of the genus in Turkey is 60 % with the additional two new subspecies (C. pterocarpum subsp. bilgilii ve C. pterocarpum subsp. sivasicum) which were described recently. In this study, root, stem, leaf, leaf sheath and fruit anatomical characters of the members of the genus Caropodium (Apiaceae) were determined in detail and systematic importance these traits was revealed. Examined samples were collected from 22 different localities. According to the results, the anatomical charactersitics of root, stem, leaf and leaf sheath of all the investigated taxa are resemling in general. However, some distinct features were determined among the fruit anatomical traits. Statistical analyses performed with 100 quantitative characters show that 80 of 100 characters differs among tha taxa. Also, another important finding is presence of sclereids in periderm layers in the transvers sections of roots. Arrangement and density of the seclereids differs among the taxa. Moreover, in the current literatures on Apiaceae, it has not been reported presence of seclereids in root transvers sections